Another Brussels Sprouts Recipe! (Sponsored)

Brussels sprouts are one of our favorite vegetables, so it's not surprising that I have multiple recipes for preparing the mini cabbages on this blog. Normally I make something with a sweet-spicy edge, like roasted sprouts tossed in a gochujang-maple syrup glaze, but I really like the idea of this recipe. I'd make it in the summer with fresh herbs from my garden, but it's November and the weather forecast called for snow flurries this weekend (!) so I'm officially kissing my basil plants goodbye. Sometimes I buy herbs from the supermarket, but that tends to be wasteful. I end up tossing as much or more than I use into the compost bin. But I love these frozen herb cubes by Dorot Gardens, and buy them when I can. The garlic is especially useful, as I really hate chopping garlic (and get Mr Minx to do it when I can). One frozen cube = 1 clove of garlic. The herb cubes each equal a teaspoon of chopped fresh herb. 

George Duran's Herbed Roasted Brussels Sprouts

I like my roasted brussels sprouts to be really brown and crispy, so I'd make changes to this recipe. I'd toss the sprouts in 1 tablespoon of olive oil and roast them at least 30 minutes to start, then toss them with the defrosted herbs + other tablespoon of oil and roast another 10-15 minutes until they are much browner and very tender. I wouldn't add the onion at all. Carrots are optional, but I might like to roast those separately, in larger pieces, and then combine them with the sprouts. I'm going to make this for Thanksgiving and will post the photo here and on Instagram later.

3 cubes Dorot Gardens Basil

3 cubes Dorot Gardens Parsley

3 cubes Dorot Gardens Cilantro

3 cubes Dorot Gardens Garlic

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 lb. brussels sprouts, outer leaves removed, trimmed, and cut in half

2 medium carrots, peeled and finely chopped

1/2 medium onion, finely chopped

Salt and pepper, to taste

 

Preheat your oven to 425°F

Place all frozen Dorot Gardens cubes in a microwave safe bowl and add 2 tbsp olive oil. Microwave for 1 minute.

Place brussels sprouts in a medium bowl and add carrots and onions. Mix in microwaved herbs and garlic, season generously with salt and pepper, and place on a baking sheet.

Roast for 30-45 minutes, just until it begins to brown. Remove from oven and season more to taste.

Serves 4-6. 

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats. Amazon links earn me $! Please buy!

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Another Carrot Recipe - Yes, I Like Carrots.

I normally don't follow recipes to the letter. I don't know if it's because I know my palate and understand what will work best for it, or if I just have some odd recipe-specific ADD. In any case, it's very very rare that I do what I'm supposed to do. Case in point: the recipe for roasted carrots with creamy nuoc cham dressing that I found in a recent e-mailing from Bon Appetit magazine. Nuoc cham is the ubiquitous Vietnamese all-purpose sauce. It's sweet, salty, pungent, and amazingly delicious. Blending it with mayo and oil to create a dressing to go over a lightly sweet roasted root vegetable seemed like the fabulous no-brainer idea I always want to have (but often don't).

Normally, if I get a recipe off the Internet, I write the ingredients on a piece of scrap paper and take that to the kitchen with me. In the case of this recipe, I neglected to write down "1 ½-inch piece ginger, peeled, thinly sliced." So I made it without the ginger. Nevertheless, the sauce was lovely (after I added more mayo and a pinch of cayenne to up the heat level a tad). It worked very very well with the roasted carrots, but would be even better, I think, as a dressing for a Caesar salad. Just add parm. Had I remembered the ginger, however, I don't think I would have made the connection.

Fortunately, this recipe makes more dressing than needed for the carrots. Toss it on some romaine lettuce, add croutons and lots of fresh Parmesan, and you'll have the Caesar salad of your dreams.

Roasted Carrots with Creamy Nuoc Cham Dressing (adapted from Bon Appetit)

2 pounds medium carrots, peeled
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Kosher salt
1 medium shallot, thinly sliced
Pinch red pepper flakes
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Pinch cayenne (optional)

Preheat oven to 425°. Toss carrots and vegetable oil on a large rimmed baking sheet and season with salt. Roast, tossing occasionally, until crisp-tender, 20–25 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring shallot, red pepper flakes, ginger, garlic, fish sauce, sugar, and 2 tablespoons water to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat and cook until shallot is soft, 8–10 minutes. Let cool. Transfer to a blender or mini-prep food processor, add lime juice and mayonnaise, and blend until smooth. With motor running, gradually stream in ¼ cup oil; blend until emulsified. Season dressing with salt and a pinch of cayenne pepper, if you'd like the dressing to be spicier.

Drizzle dressing over carrots just before serving.



Posted on Minxeats.com.