Brussels sprouts are an acquired taste that not everyone acquires (or has acquired yet). I’m not that fond of them myself. But with game & wine dinner parties coming up, I need to work on my autumnal side dishes for game, and overlooking sprouts is not an option. Roasting makes most vegetables taste so much better. I looked for inspiration online, and found a simple recipe that sounded very good on Once Upon a Chef: roasted Brussels sprouts with balsamic vinegar and honey. The balsamic and honey do a great job of balancing out the flavor. The recipe is very easy and uses few ingredients, so it is a keeper! Thanks, Jenn. The only thing I changed is the cooking time, 25 to 30 minutes are needed rather than 20 in my experience (but this may depend on the size of the sprouts and your oven).
It is important for this recipe to use the smallest sprouts you can find, because they are sweeter. If you can only find large ones, quarter them first to get a nice ratio of browned outside to tender inside. To ensure even cooking, all sprouts should be roughly the same size. It is also important to get them crispy on the outside without overcooking the inside, which means the oven should be very hot. Overcooking will accentuate the unpleasant bitter cabbage flavor of sprouts. Balsamic vinegar comes in many qualities. If you use high quality sweet balsamic, you may even omit the honey.
Ingredients
For 2 servings
400 grams Brussels sprouts, trimmed
salt and freshly ground black pepper
extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp honey
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 225C/440F. Put the sprouts in an oven proof dish. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and add about a tablespoon of olive oil. Toss to coat them on all sides.
Roast at 225C/440F (fan forced) for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring the sprouts halfway for even browning.
The sprouts are done when they are nicely browned and crispy on the outside, and tender but firm to the bite on the inside. You may have to adjust the oven temperature to the size of your sprouts to get this exactly right (higher temperature for smaller sprouts, lower temperature for larger sprouts).
Drizzle a tablespoon of good quality extra virgin olive oil, a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, and a teaspoon of honey on the sprouts. Then toss until the sprouts are coated with the dressing. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Serve at once.
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Stefan's Gourmet Blog 
Gosh .. these look good. Unfortunately my family all hate brussel sprouts, whereas I actually like them a lot. Which means, translates, into never making them. My friend made them for a Thanksgiving many many years ago … she ‘grated’ them and cooked them with ginger and apple ! Deeelicious. Thanks Stefan … I think I am going to buy me some brussel sprouts just for me !
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My favorite way of preparing Brussels sprouts (in terms of flavor, that is!) is to pluck the individual leaves and then briefly stir-fry those and finish with some meat jus. But of course plucking sprouts is even more work than making the tiniest of tortellini…
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You make a very good point ! 🙂
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Really like this version. Maybe I will update my lemon Thanksgiving sprouts.
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Heavens to Murgatroyd, why should anyone dislike these absolute beauties: my winter favourites and I have just taken my penultimate bag out of the crisper to reassure them I love ’em under all circumstances! Pretty and tasty and I never had one problem serving them to the kids 🙂 ! OK: I oft just steam but this is v nice and shall add the few extra ingredients! BUT, But, but . . . why don’t people like broccoli and Brussels . . . quite beyond my understanding !! Oh yes, I do like them small also . . .
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I find Brussels sprouts spectacular – I’ll even eat them just steamed with olive oil and some salt. But this recipe is wonderful.
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The older I get, the more I like them 🙂
This recipe rocks 🙂
Hans
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http://www.ChefsOpinion.org
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I used to hate Brussels sprouts until I had them oven roasted at a little Bistrot in Los Angeles and served with walnuts. Now, they are a stable in winter.
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I cavoletti di Brouxelles sono buonissimi! Così anche meglio.
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My husband and I love Brussels sprouts! But he prefers his steamed then with butter only. I tried roasting them once similar to this with balsamic and he was not impressed. Maybe I overcooked them.
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I hope a lot of people are inspired by this recipe as sprouts taste wonderful and are easy to prepare. I just steam them, let them cool off, and stir fry in (pork) fat. This way they are evenly cooked and have a smokey exterior that works well with cabbage variaties in general.
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Thank you! I seldom cook Brussels sprouts for the smell, maybe that cooking in oven and adding sweetness can help.
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You and I are on opposite sides of the Brussels sprouts fence, Stefan. I love them! This is a completely new preparation to any I’ve tried but I’m sure to love it. I will definitely give it a go this fall, perhaps for Thanksgiving.
By the way, sorry I’ve not been as frequent a visitor of late. It’s been s rather bizarre couple of weeks but a kind of normalcy seems to be returning,. Oh, how I hope so! I’ve quite a backlog to clear but I’ll be back! 🙂
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Thanks for the heads up. I had noticed you weren’t as active as usual. Your situation must have been quite bizarre indeed if you can say normalcy seems to be returning so close after the election 😉
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