Ingredient: Brussels sprouts
Category: Vegetables
Season: November to February:
The Brussels (or brussels or brussel) sprout (Brassica oleracea Gemmifera Group) of the Brassicaceae family, is a cultivar group of Wild Cabbage cultivated for its small (typically 2.5 - 4cm, 1 - 1.5 inches diameter) leafy green buds, which resemble miniature cabbages.
The name stems from the original place of cultivation, not because of the vegetable's popularity in Brussels.
The edible sprouts grow like buds in a spiral array on the side of long thick stalks of approximately 2-4 feet in height, maturing over several weeks from the lower to the upper part of the stalk.
Sprouts may be picked by hand into baskets, in which case several harvests are made of 5-15 sprouts at a time, by cutting the entire stalk at once for processing, or by mechanical harvester, depending on variety
Brussels sprouts are among the same family that includes cabbage, collard greens, broccoli, kale, and kohlrabi.
They contain good amounts of vitamin A, vitamin C, folic acid and dietary fibre.
They are believed to protect against colon cancer, due to their containing sinigrin. Brussels sprouts are cruciferous.
The usual method of preparing a Brussels sprout for cooking is:
Cut off the base together with any remaining stem, peel away and discard the surface leaves that are loosened by this cut.
When boiling or steaming:
Some cooks will cut a cross in the stem to aid the penetration of heat to the centre of the sprout.
Small, tight buttons about 1 inch (2.5 cm) in size are best,
Sprinkle with salt
Steam for 5-8 minutes, but watch carefully and remember undercooking is just as bad as overcooking, so use a skewer to test when they are tender
The larger, more opened, walnut-sized sprouts are more difficult to cook but can be used in purees or soups.
Another way to serve them is to have a frying pan with a teaspoon of butter and a teaspoon of oil very hot, after giving them about 1 minute’s less steaming, toss them around in the hot pan to finish cooking and to turn them fairly brown at the edges.
This last method can be varied by adding a couple of rashers of chopped streaky bacon, cooked first till crisp, or
At Christmas it is nice to add 4 oz (110 g) of chopped, peeled, cooked chestnuts and brown these, too.
1 lb (450 g) of Brussels sprouts will serve 2-3 people.
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