ROASTED BRUSSEL SPROUTS

Out of all the veggies, I think one has been ignored long enough…and that’s the brussel sprout!

Growing up, I used to think of any excuse to get out of eating them. The pungent smell when they were boiling away was enough for me to rethink sitting down for dinner at all (not that mum used to let me off that easily)!

As part of teaching my kids to at least try everything, I thought I better give cooking these babies a go. They were absolutely delicious, and thirty years of history vanished in a bite! I even went as far as growing brussel sprouts in our patch at the farm, harvesting them as we needed them throughout late winter and early spring.

I love to cook them in a pan with salt and maple syrup, or alongside onion and bacon as a side dish. My favourite way to serve them though is in a warm salad along with other roasted vegetables. Simplicity is the key here. All they need to shine is a drizzle of oil, salt flakes, freshly ground black pepper and a lovely basil dressing. So easy and absolutely packed with flavour!

You can see my full recipe below.

Ingredients;

300g baby brussel sprouts, ends removed

2 bunches Dutch carrots, leave a 2cm stem on each carrot, washed

4 eschalots, cut in halves or quarters depending on how round they are

2 large cloves garlic, whole and unpeeled

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus a drizzle extra to roast the vegetables

¼ cup red wine vinegar

½ cup fresh basil leaves, loosely packed and roughly torn

Sea salt flakes and freshly ground pepper, to taste

method;

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Place the carrots, sprouts, onions and garlic in an ovenproof dish and toss them with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper. Pop the dish in the oven for 45 minutes, making sure to turn them at about the 25 minute mark.

To make the dressing, place the 1/3 cup of olive oil, red wine vinegar and basil in a small bowl and whisk to mix it all up. Peel the roasted garlic, squash them down and add to the dressing. Season to taste and whisk it all again.

Place the roasted vegetable on a serving dish, add the dressing and serve immediately.