I had chicken marinating in lemon juice, garlic and rosemary to put on the grill for dinner and needed to come up with a vegetable. Remembering there were brussels sprouts in the fridge, I consulted Alice Waters' "Chez Panisse Vegetables" cookbook for inspiration. I zeroed in on a recipe for a spicy broccoli saute with Indian spices. I adapted it to ingredients I had on hand and the result was delicious.
1 pound brussels sprouts
2 T ghee
2 rounds of fresh ginger, minced
1/2 t cumin seed
1 t mustard seed
1/4 t turmeric
1 small onion, chopped
Applewood-smoked sea salt, to taste
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
Water, as needed
Clean the brussels sprouts. With a sharp knife, slice off the bottom of the stem end. Pull off any damaged leaves. Quarter each brussels sprout lengthwise. Melt the ghee in a heavy pot. Add the ginger, cumin seed, mustard seed, and turmeric. Gently saute until the mustard seeds start to pop. (This brings out the flavors of the spices.) Stir in the onion and saute until they are softened. Add the brussels sprouts, stirring the coat them with the seasonings. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Add 1 or 2 tablespoons of water to the pot, cover and steam the brussels sprouts for about ten minutes, or to desired tenderness. Lift the cover occasionally to stir the ingredients and to add more water, if needed.
*You don't have to use smoked salt; unflavored salt will be absolutely fine. I discovered the delights of smoked salt this summer. I had a jar of applewood-smoked salt in my spice cupboard so I used it in this dish. I found it added a subtle grace note of flavor to the rest of the seasonings.
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