Boil Christmas veg? Don’t sprout nonsense
IT IS the age-old method for cooking Brussels sprouts, handed down the generations and put into practice at least once a year.
But it now seems that by cutting a small cross in the base of each sprout all this time, we have all simply been doing it wrongly.
And instead of boiling them, we should be steaming, stir-frying or even microwaving Brussels to get that perfectly crunchy consistency.
Britain’s top sprout expert has urged the nation’s cooks to reconsider their approach to the Christmas staple whose fortunes are starting to be revived.
Matthew Rawson, chairman of the Brassica Growers Association, said: “Boiling them was traditionally the way of doing it, but putting the cross in puts in too much water.
“They turn soggy and rubbish. People who do that have ruined the Brussels sprout.”
Mr Rawson, who farms in Yorkshire, added: “People now are learning that it is a very versatile vegetable. The big ones lend themselves well to a stir-fry. People are steaming them, and there are fancy microwave packs. It is being driven forward by people who are more creative.”
He credits the new vogue for dishes such as Brussels sprouts with pancetta and chestnuts or pistachio and pomegranate sprout salad with revitalising the vegetable’s fortunes.
“Brussels sprouts have moved away from the poor little malign Christmas sprout image, and it has seen demand increase,” he said. “It’s happened over the last decade. Certainly people do eat more of them – there are a lot more foody programmes on television and foody magazines, and it is there in their subconscious.” The sprout farmer has teamed up with Aaron Craze, a Youtube cooking star, to set up the website loveyourgreens.co. uk and to promote the wonders of his beloved brassicas. “The reality was that people who were eating our products were the older generation, and the older generation keep dying so we had to link in with younger generations and mothers,” said Mr Rawson.
“It was just another way of experimenting with our product.”
Nicola Knight, an analyst at Horizons, which provides information on the food sector, said sprouts are now seen as a more versatile winter ingredient than just a traditional festive accompaniment.
She said: “Following on from the recent rise in popularity of spinach and kale, Brussels appear to be the latest vegetable to benefit from growing awareness of the health benefits of leafy greens.
“We are now seeing them used in soups and salads, and as a topping for burgers and pizza.”
Brussels on pizza? Now that’s surely a step too far.