Marinated Brussels sprouts

March 26, 2023

   

I have already found a new home for my copy of In Praise of Veg, but I tucked away a few more recipes to try before passing it on. I've been poised especially to use the 'seventies dinner party sprouts' one as soon as I noticed good Brussels sprouts at the shops. They're briefly marinated in a sweet soy mixture and cooked on high heat to achieve crisp, slightly burned edges.

My sprouts didn't have the high colour contrast of Zaslavsky's - perhaps I should have spread them across two trays to give them a bit of room and extra browning. The flavour was also more subtle than I expected but still very satisfying, especially with the peanuts in the mix. The room temperature leftovers were at least as good as the first go-round, and we ate them alongside leftover corn & tomato salad.

Marinated Brussels sprouts

(slightly adapted from a recipe in Alice Zaslavsky's In Praise of Veg)

500g Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved

roasted peanuts, to garnish (optional)

chopped red chilli, to garnish (optional)

marinade

2 tablespoons honey, maple syrup or golden syrup

2 tablespoons tamari

2 tablespoons peanut oil

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon caraway seeds

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

2-3 cloves garlic, crushed

Preheat an oven to 220°C. Place a baking tray in the oven to heat up.

Whisk the marinade ingredients together in a shallow container. Arrange the sprouts in the marinade and get them thoroughly coated in the liquid.

When the oven and the tray are hot, carefully retrieve the tray and line it with paper. Spread the sprouts out across the tray and hold onto the remaining marinade. Bake the sprouts for around 10 minutes, until they're slightly burned at the edges.

Serve the sprouts dressed in the leftover marinade, garnished with peanuts and chilli (if using).