How to rustle up some Brussels
Ella Walker discovers that our top chefs have ways of transforming sprouts into a delicious Christmas dinner
BRUSSELS sprouts have had it rough.
Horrifically mistreated throughout the 70s, 80s and 90s, for too long we threw them into boiling water and left them to wilt, stew and practically dissolve.
In the process, generations have grown up thinking sprouts are disgusting, an inedible hell only to be endured on Christmas Day.
Gordon Ramsay admitted: “I still have nightmares now, watching my mum criss-cross the bottom of the sprouts. The minute she blanched them, they blew up – all the leaves had separated.”
The Scots chef, who currently holds seven Michelin stars and has released latest book Ramsay in 10, has a twist on tradition.
He still starts by partblanching his sprouts – but then he’ll “roast them with the most amazing, caramelised shallots, and finish with pancetta”.
Gordon’s pal and This Morning cook, Gino D’Acampo, left, – whose new cookbook is Gino’s Italian Family Adventure (Bloomsbury, £22) – brings his Italian sensibilities to Brussels. “We make them with garlic, chilli, toasted breadcrumbs on top – absolutely delicious.”
Sunday Morning chef James Martin, below, also appreciates sprouts with chestnuts, as well as crispy bacon, “thinly sliced with a little bit of cream, and then sweat it off in a pan with a touch of butter” – butter being the focus of his latest cookbook of the same name (Quadrille, £22).
Speaking of chestnuts – another ingredient taken hostage by the festive season – sprouts are too often devoutly considered a Christmas food, destined to be eaten only once a year, despite being in season from October to March. It seems unfair to confine them so strictly. “The great thing about sprouts is that you can cook them in lots of different ways,” said Lucy Brazier, author of Christmas At River Cottage (Bloomsbury, £22). “What you need to do is cook them at the last minute, just before you’re about to eat them – chuck them into boiling water and do a couple of minutes, so they start to soften but not go too soggy. And then if I’m doing them with chestnuts, I’ll stick them in a pan with the chestnuts, and fry them off for a couple of minutes as well, so you get some nice crispy edges.”
Singer and presenter Rochelle Humes, who has just released her debut cookbook, At Mama’s Table (Vermilion, £20), is also a huge Brussels fan. “I actually do them in a wok,” she said. “I put bacon in there and onion and a bit of maple syrup, trying to make them a little bit tastier for the kids – but the kids actually really like them.” Irish chef Donal Skehan (Everyday Cook, Hodder & Stoughton, £25), likes his sprouts “in every way, shape or form”. One day he’ll chop them up for a raw salad, and the next cooked up with soy sauce, parmesan and pancetta. Donal, below, said: “There’s a great little method where you slice them in half and you place them all in the pan, cut side down, and you add fish sauce and sesame oil.” You pan-fry them until crisp, before adding “a splash of water and a little bit of honey, and then you pop the lid on and let them steam”. The top tip from Ruby Tandoh, author of Cook As You Are (Serpent’s Tail, £19.99) is to “pan-fry them with a little garlic, b e f o r e drizzling with a peanuty satay sauce. The pairing works a dream.” She added: “Brussels sprouts absolutely love to be charred – they need a blast of heat to bring out their hidden sweetness, and to avoid the soggy pitfalls of a long slow boil.”