Roast Brussels sprouts with a spicy sauce (that’s also good for other things).
This recipe was influenced by a few different things–two recipes and one unusual set of circumstances. The first recipe was the delicious Brussels sprouts chips at a vegetarian restaurant that’s so good that I’ll not only agree to eat there, but will request to go there called Sanctum. They only make a few batches of their delicious Brussels sprouts chips and offer a variety of drizzly sauces on top. I ate the whole plate of them. The other recipe that influenced me was this one from the HeartBeet Kitchen blog that I randomly found on Google. While I am sure that recipe is great as is, I wanted to go for something a little more extreme.
The set of circumstances is that I moved out of state and am working with a limited amount of kitchen things (until I unpack more boxes), somewhat limited pantry, and since I donated my car, I needed to work with what I have here. Which admittedly is a lot of stuff, I am nowhere near deprived in any way. What resulted is a filling side dish or if you eat enough of it a very satisfying vegetarian/vegan meal–no, you shouldn’t chug the sauce. C’mon people.
Spicy Tahini Sriracha Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Ingredients
- 1 lb Brussels sprouts Organic if you can, I was lucky to have these
- 2 T olive oil divided
- 1 t mineral salt or sea salt
- 1 t fresh ground black pepper or more... lots more
- 1/2 cup tahini (you know that sesame paste stuff)
- 2 clove fresh garlic chopped
- juice of half a lemon
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 medjool date remove pit and chop
- 1 tsp white vinegar the plain cheap kind, trust me.
- 1 Tbsp Sriracha or more... load it up, hipster!
Instructions
- This may be a new favorite...
- Roasting Brussels sprouts is the key to making them delicious.. quartering them is the real magic... basically the extra surface area brings extra opportunities for crispness and delicious browned bits. The smaller pieces also ensure that the sprouts ROAST not steam... and that's crucial. If they're too big or too crowded on the pan they steam and then they turn into the gross Brussels sprouts that people remember from less fortunate times when Brussels sprouts were only served boiled until gray. Gray and sulfurous... so if that is your impression of Brussels sprouts I would encourage you to give this recipe a try and see a whole different side of this very nutrient rich cruciferous vegetable that's high in sulfur (don't boil it, eww) and has indole-3-carbinol which has hormonal benefits and reported cancer risk reduction for men and women. In other words there are many reasons to enjoy roast Brussels sprouts.
- First, preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Rinse and DRY the Brussels sprouts, then trim off the hard stem, then quarter the sprouts.
- Toss the quartered sprouts with salt, pepper, and 1 tablespoon olive oil.
- Spread in a SINGLE LAYER on a large cookie sheet, be sure not to overcrowd them!
- Roast for a total of about 18-20 minutes, flipping and/or gently stirring them halfway through the roasting time for more delicious crispy bits!
- While the sprouts are roasting, it's time to make the sauce. I use a large spouted 1 quart measuring cup to make the sauce so I can drizzle it right away -- and because my awesome All Clad Immersion Blender fits in there to do its magic. (don't be fooled by the brand, it's not that expensive for something you will find yourself using all the time. You can blend up soups with it ON THE STOVE TOP for heavens sake. It has a "turbo" button. Enough said.)
- Put the following ingredients in the cup or a small/medium bowl: water, tahini, the other tablespoon of olive oil, lemon juice, chopped garlic, chopped date, salt, pepper, vinegar, sriracha. Blend to oblivion, then a little more. Set aside
- When the sprouts are finished roasting, serve them hot and drizzle with the sauce.
- My dinner was very simple, just the sprouts, the sauce and one of 4 1/4lb grassfed beef burger patties I'd made (saved the other three to be used with the next few mealsimply seasoned with salt and pepper. Of course I put more of that sauce on the burger patty too... that's really really recommended. The sauce is also great for dunking celery and carrot sticks, cucumber slices etc.
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