Recipe: TFG’s Brussels Sprouts for People Who Hate Brussels Sprouts

A lot of people hate brussels sprouts. It’s hard to blame them – they can be kind of stinky, and not a lot of people know how to prepare them so that they taste good! I don’t remember when or how I came up with this recipe, but its ridiculously tasty and everyone I know who has told me they don’t like brussels sprouts and were a good enough sport to try these have told me they LOVED them. I even get special requests to make them, and I’ve had to share the recipe a few times.

So, I’m finally publishing the recipe – I’ll try to consider this my “comeback” to blogging since I haven’t been active over the past year or so (despite having 20+ posts & ideas queued up…)

Just in time for Thanksgiving! Tell me what you think!

Brussels Sprouts for People Who Hate Brussell Sprouts

Ingredients

• About 2-3 cups whole brussels sprouts
• Olive Oil
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• Salt
• Pepper
• Nutmeg
• 1/4 – 1/2 cups pecans
• 1/4 cup Parmesan Reggiano Cheese
• Optional: crushed red pepper flakes

Prep

• Preheat oven to about 350 degrees
• Cut the hard ends off the brussels sprouts (that’s what makes them bitter) and then halve them, keeping any leaves that fall off (unless they look bad)
• Place brussels sprouts in a baking dish in a single layer (they may touch, and leaves may overlap, this is OK)
• Drizzle olive oil over the brussels sprouts and toss to coat evenly
• Mince garlic, sprinkle over brussels sprouts and toss to distribute evenly
• Sprinkle brussels sprouts with about 1/2 tsp each salt & pepper and nutmeg (to taste)
• Place pecans in a ziplock bag and use a meat mallet to crush them; this should create smaller pieces but not super tiny pieces
• Sprinkle brussels sprouts with pecans and 1/4 cup Parmesan Reggiano cheese
• If desired, sprinkle with 1/4-1/2 tsp crushed red peppers

Cook

• Place brussels sprouts in preheated oven and cook approximately 30 minutes or until brussels sprouts are tender and loose leaves are slightly crisp. For extra crispiness, turn the broiler on for the last 2-3 minutes of cooking.