I’m going to have to work on more exciting titles.
I never cared much about Brussels sprouts, until I worked at a vegetable farm. For most of my life, no one cared much about them either. My recollection is an overcooked round ball of sulfur smelling leaves, that usually came out of the freezer. But there are good ways to cook them and these methods have become popular so much so, that in the fall we would get requests for Brussels sprouts from Thanksgiving through Christmas. Brussels sprouts have become a very popular dish for the Holidays, but unfortunately, they don’t grow so well here, it is much to warm in the fall, and even though they do need to be planted along with your broccoli, they have a longer growing season and won’t be ready in time for Christmas. February is my official harvest month. And, when they are ready harvest them and eat them and give them to your friends and then let them be gone for another 11 months.
This year was my first year actually trying to grow these myself, and I was not successful. I encourage people to try, but if it doesn’t work for you, this is normal, and the good news is that you can still eat the leaves. Like my broccoli leaves they are perfect sautéed with garlic and butter and if needed they can pass as collard greens. My problem, was that I was so afraid of planting too early, I put them in the ground too late and got small plants, with tiny or no sprouts. Also, in one of my planting areas, they were shaded by the giant purple sprouting broccoli.
One of the main problems with growing them when it is too warm, is that they easily become infested with aphids. And, this means that they are probably sprayed with lots of pesticides. If you are buying them at the store look this is one item where I would opt for organic.
If you get ahold of the sprouts on the stalk, leave them on until you are ready to eat them (if you have the space to store the whole thing), it will keep them fresher longer. Also, you will have sprouts of different sizes, I usually cut the largest into quarters, the majority of medium sizes into halves and just leave the tiny ones whole.
Here is my favorite recipe to sauté the sprouts.
Sautéed Brussels Sprouts
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound Brussels sprouts, halved or quartered lengthwise though the core
- ¼ cup water
- salt and pepper
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice or white wine vinegar
In a large skillet, heat oil over medium. Add Brussels sprouts, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring frequently, until caramelized, 7-8 minutes. Add water and cook until evaporated, about 2 minutes. Add lemon juice and toss to coat. Serve immediately.