As a child I hated Brussels sprouts. That’s because my grandma boiled them, and probably only put salt, pepper and butter on them. Yuck. Now, I have learned to either bake or pan fry them with olive oil and to add some other seasonings – the seasons that I add are still pretty basic, but man oh man do they make these round little green veggies amazing!
I typically only put olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic & onion power on Brussels sprout when I eat them for dinner. But for Thanksgiving this year I decided to add a little bit of color and a lot of flavor to these vegetables that so many children and adults hate. I wanted to make my friends believers of these little things.
So, here’s what I did. This served about 12 people, since it was Thanksgiving and we had so many sides. I think this amount would serve 4 or so if it’s just for a regular meal.
Ingredients:
pancetta, one package
Brussels sprouts, 1 pound
salt
pepper
garlic powder
onion powder
dried cranberries (sweetened or unsweetened, your preference)
candied walnuts (or pecans)
grated Parmesan cheese
Directions:
1.Wash the Brussels sprouts, chop of the stem end, then slice each into 4ths.
2. Cut the pancetta up into little squares and begin to heat in a large skillet. Once the pancetta is hot, add the sliced Brussels sprouts. Stir and sprinkle with the seasonings, stir again.
3. Add 1/4 cup of water and cover for about 10 minutes stirring occasionally. Remove the lid and let the Brussels sprouts get crispy.
4. Right before serving stir in a handful or two of the dried cranberries, the candied walnuts and the grated Parmesan cheese.
5. Scoop out into a fancy dish and sprinkle with the remaining grated Parmesan cheese. Serve warm.