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Brussel Sprouts, Brown Butter & Caraway

Source of Recipe

Pamela Hill @ Somersize Site (from "Canadian Living")


Recipe Introduction

Level 1 ~ Pro/Fat & Veggies ~ This is THE best Brussel Sprouts recipe I've tasted!

List of Ingredients

2 pounds Brussel sprouts (fresh or frozen, see notes)
1 cup boiling chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon salt
pinch pepper
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 tablespoon lemon juice




Recipe

Wash and trim the sprouts. Cut a shallow "X" in the base of each sprout so that heat can penetrate and sprout will cook evenly. (I now trim the stems and cut the sprout right in half, see notes)

In saucepan, combine sprouts, stock, salt and pepper. Cover and bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer for about 15 minutes or until sprouts are fork tender but firm. By this time, most of the stock will have been absorbed or evaporated adding its flavour to the sprouts.

Meanwhile, in small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat; increase heat to high and cook, just until butter browns, being careful not to let it burn. Add caraway seeds and cook for about 30 seconds.

Drain sprouts thoroughly. Taste and adjust seasoning. Toss with browned butter, caraway seeds and lemon juice. Serve in warmed bowl.

This sounds more complicated than it is! Its the only way my family will eat Brussels sprouts, and this recipe makes quite a bit. You could cut it in half for a family of four. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do.
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* Deb's notes: I usually tweak and otherwise mess with a recipe, but this one I made pretty much as written.

Now that I've made these a few times - I feel it's important to "almost overcook" them. The last time, I cooked them just until they were fork tender and that wasn't long enough to get rid of their strong (bitter) flavor.

Finally - I tried this using frozen Brussel sprouts! They worked wonderfully. I don't think I'll bother with fresh again, as frozen were SO much easier. What I did was trim off any remaining stem and then simply cut each sprout right in half. A lot easier than cutting the "X" in them and they cook faster too.

These are hands-down THE best tasting Brussel sprouts we've had!