Some Years of Brussels Sprouting

I want to write a few lines about Brussels sprouts before the stroke of Thanksgiving…
Hard for me. Doing my best. But here we go.

Yes, I read online there has been some genetic pushing and pulling in the Brussels Sprouts department over the last (what is 1990 from 2025?) number of years. Enhanced flavor. Goody.

I apologize that I couldn’t get myself together today to do some recipe testing, but I did pull together a number of ideas from my cookbook collection. They are fun and interesting. And if you should be in charge of making or taking brussels sprouts to your Thanksgiving dinner, you might want to look them over.

First the flavor treatments…at the close I’ll give the basic rule for preparing these delicious and nutritious little globes. N.B. Always always the globes are blanched (parboiled) before flavoring.

I thought it would be interesting to give you selections by date.

1939: Irma Mazza in her classic early Herbs for the Kitchen sums up all about “Brussel Sprouts:” “This vegetable is a first cousin to broccoli, and may be served in exactly the same ways.” Hey, then, how about Brussels sprouts with Hollandaise? I just may try that…

1943: from Clementine in the Kitchen by Phineas Beck/aka Samuel V. Chamberlain: in the spirit of Irma Mazza, I liken Brussels sprouts to cabbage… The Chamberlain family’s French cook Clementine’s notion for Choux Rouge à la Clémentine was to cook 4 cups shredded red cabbage with 2 or 3 chopped onions browned in a little butter, then add 3 chopped large apples (green cooking apples I would imagine) for a few minutes…add the leaves and a cup of water (why not apple juice?) and “Cook for 1 hour or more,” stirring often. Finish with 1/3 cup each vinegar and sugar…sour and sweet. Tempting.

1961: from Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child et al, la Julia gives us six pages of Brussels sprouts, hooray. (Broccoli gets one page, Cauliflower five-and-a-half.) As you would expect, our Julia begins with the technique for Amount to Buy of Choux de Bruxelles…Serving Suggestions… Preparation for Cooking. Variations are Braised in Butter (“…sprouts are tender and well impregnated with butter…”), Creamed (the hotel chef Louis Diat has similar in his 1941 Cooking a la Ritz: to 1 quart blanched sprouts “Add 1 cup of boiling cream, let cook until reduced to one half and thicken with 2 tablespoons of Cream Sauce…” doesn’t every cook have a pocketful of cream sauce for dipping into?)—Julia’s sprouts are baked in the oven in cream… She also braises chestnuts…then in Brussels Sprouts Gratinéed with Cheese Sauce she blankets braised sprouts in a baking dish with hot bechamel with cheese, sprinkles the top with grated Swiss cheese and browns the dish…oh my. Another is Brussels Sprouts Chopped and Simmered in Cream–cooked in a skillet under whipping cream “until the vegetables have almost entirely absorbed the cream…” Another—and it strikes me of the period (elaborate cooking) is a Timbale—pureed sprouts mixed with eggs, milk, cheese, and bread crumbs baked in a mold in a water bath…
And our Julia treats frozen Brussels sprouts…nothing elaborate, just sensible. So nice.

1964: from The Food of Italy and How to Prepare It by Edwin H. and Mildred O. Knopf…The Knopfs entertained a lot—Eddy was a successful Hollywood producer (and the half-brother of publishing star Alfred A. Knopf), Mildred wrote cookbooks. Their notion, Brussels Sprouts with Parmesan, is to sauté the blanched sprouts in butter, add half-and-half or light cream—shaking the pan and turning the orbs–then sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and simmer 2-3 minutes, serve sprinkled with more cheese. Yum.

1988: from Laurie Colwin’s Home Cooking…Laurie was a brilliant novelist, great cook (and dear friend, I am privileged to say). In her chapter on Friday Night Supper—a Jewish Friday night supper—Laurie has Sprouts Covered with Grieben (grieben are cracklings rendered from chicken fat and skin). Sprouts are covered with the cracklings, salted and peppered, then roasted for two hours, shaking the pan from time to time. “You want sprouts that are golden brown on the outside and mushy on the inside. Even brussels sprout haters have been known to love these.”

1995: from The Kitchen Garden Cookbook (by You Know Who): Japanese-inspired Sesame-Seeded Brussels Sprouts. Prepare a sauce: in a dry skillet toast 3 tablespoons sesame seeds until golden…stir in 1 tablespoon each peanut oil and sugar…when sugar dissolves, blend in ¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce. The sauce now may be set aside. Reheat before tossing 1 pound blanched halves of sprouts in the sauce. Finish with freshly ground white pepper.

2001: from Danny Meyer’s Second Helpings: dining at Danny’s Union Square Café was a pleasure and a privilege for me. Danny says this about our vegetable du jour: “In our early days, garnishing a main course with brussels sprouts was a sure way to ‘torpedo’ its sales: no one liked them, it seemed. In recent years we’ve noted that this cruciferous vegetable is finally winning its way into the hearts of diners, actually lending additional support and interest to a dish…” Huzzah. The recipe Danny gives is Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Oregano…The bacon is “cut crosswise into 1-inch-wide pieces and sauteed until the fat is rendered. The larger sprouts are quartered, the smaller sprouts halved, added to the pan, stirring to coat the pieces. A small handful of chopped fresh oregano is added, then the pan is roasted at 425 degrees (stirring now and then) until the pieces are tender, about 25 minutes. A splash of lemon juice and grind of black pepper finish the dish.

Fresh or dried dill is another herb with special affinity for the cabbage family.

2014: from Lodge Cast Iron Nation a lovely combination of trendy and traditional: Creamy Brussels Sprouts with Toasted Pine Nuts…Toast a handful of pine nuts in a large dry cast iron skillet over high heat…then sauté halved sprouts in oil until “browned and slightly crispy, 8 to 10 minutes.” Slosh in heavy cream (about ¼ cup per pound of sprouts) and cook until it reduces and the sprouts are coated, few minutes more. Toss with the pine nuts and serve.

2014: from Yotam Ottolenghi’s Plenty More comes a dish I’d love to make but don’t have the time or chops for: Brussels Sprouts with Caramelized Garlic and Lemon Peel. Doesn’t that title just make your mouth water—does mine. I bought the garlic cloves, there are enough Meyer lemons on our tree to sugar, but I don’t have it in me today. Not going to give you the method because it’d take up two pages and I’ve got to go to bed…

As for preparation of these little orbs–preparation is crucial to their success—if your stalk bearing sprouts (and that is a magnificent trophy from the garden) is home- or farm-grown, soak the sprouts in warm water (weighing them down so they’re submerged) for 30 minutes to flush out any critters. Rinse in fresh water. Trim stems to ¼-inch. Remove yellowing or imperfect leaves.

Small—size of the tip of your thumb—sprouts are lovely cooked whole. Larger than that, slice lengthwise in half through the stem. Or even cut lengthwise in quarters for hefty sprouts.

To blanch—to prepare for saucing–boil whole, halved, or quartered pieces uncovered in unsalted water over moderate heat until almost tender, lift out with a skimmer or drain through a colander and lay without touching on a thick cloth to cool quickly. You can proceed with your recipe, or turn into a glass container, cover and refrigerate till needed.

Blanching can be done 24 hours in advance. Bring to room temperature before continuing with your recipe.

Safe to figure 1 pound serves 4.

Final thought. Tomorrow I’m going to bring Brussels Sprouts for 12-14 to my daughter’s kitchen…To the orbs I’m going to add chestnuts (from a package, pre-cooked) and chopped red apples. I’m looking forward to this…fooling around with proportions…

But now I’ll tell you my favorite recipe thusfar:* “Paul Bertolli, poet and inspired cook (Chez Panisse Cooking), suggests pulling the globes apart altogether to make heaps of diminutive cabbage leaves—the remaining heart is thinly sliced. Paul simmers the leaves until tender with finely diced carrot, celery, onion, and pancetta (Italian bacon) softened in olive oil. The composition is sharpened with a dash of white wine vinegar. Brilliant!”

One thing I haven’t mentioned is mentioned particularly in these cookbooks, that Brussels sprouts have a fine affinity for the robust flavors of beef, turkey, and duck. And the Belgians sprinkle freshly grated nutmeg on their sprouts.

Happy Brusseling, dear ones, Happy Everything.

* Quoted from my The Kitchen Garden Cookbook…Bantam Books, 1997, page 73.