3.15.2012

Those little belgians


Brussels sprouts were never my friends. Luckily or not, they were never served at home, nor at school. I remember once, when I was little, that I ate lunch at my neighbor's house and I ate Brussels sprouts for the first time, and last time too. Since then I never wanted to get close to one of those little cabbages. I felt really disgusted  even just thinking about them.




However, a year ago I went to one of the Jose Andres restaurants in DC. The restaurant is called Zaytinya and specializes in a mix of Greek, Turkish and Lebanese food served in small plates that are meant to share, tapas style. We were four people, and after choosing one tapa each, we asked the server to bring also his favorite one. Just try to picture my face when he came back and put in front of my face a plate of BRUSSELS SPROUTS. I almost leave the restaurant immediately. But I gave it a second thought because being the server's favorite, it had to be somewhat good. So we all tried them and OMG, they were so good! I could not believe it!

A few months after that, we went to another Jose Andres restaurant, Jaleo. Jaleo is also a tapas restaurant, but this one is Spanish (where tapas are actually from). We ordered Brussels sprouts again, this time in a salad. The sprouts came on spare leafs like they were baby lettuces. I can't tell if they were raw of they had been cooked somehow. They were so tender and fresh. The dressing was sweet, which paired perfectly with the sour flavor of the sprouts. I believe the salad also had grapes and Spanish Serrano ham. So good! Since then, I declare myself a Brussels-Sprout-Lover and I promise to give a second chance to all those dishes that I hate since I was little (there aren't that many, I eat almost everything).



Today's recipe is also from bon appétit (by chance) but I have adapted it. Instead of bacon I used prosciutto. I also added more stock than the recipe called for and I let it cook a little longer because the sprouts didn't seem tender enough.

They were great, totally delicious. We ate them with roasted chicken. I will post the chicken some other day. Kisses.


Brussels Sprouts with Prosciutto and Raisins

1 lb of Brussels sprouts
1/4 cup diced prosciutto
1 shallot or 1/2 onion, finely chopped.
1/4 cup  raisins
3/4 cup chicken stock
1 tbsp butter
3 tbsp olive oil


Heat the oil in a large skillet and fry the prosciutto. Take it out with a slotted spoon and reserve over paper towel. Rinse, trim and cut the Brussels sprouts lengthwise. Add to the skillet and season with salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, until they start to become brown and tender. Add the shallot, raisins and butter and cook over medium-low heat for 3 to 5 minutes, until the shallots are soft. Stir in the stock, increase the heat and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and let it simmer until the liquid has evaporated, like 10 more minutes. Stir in the prosciutto and serve.





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