Brussels sprouts blossom: Chefs dress up snubbed vegetable and reduce its bitter reputation

Nation's Restaurant News, Jan 7, 2002 by Alan J. Liddle

Many diners are ambivalent about certain vegetables, but chefs say that few customers are wishy-washy about Brussels sprouts, those little green or purple bundles from the cabbage family.

"I love them, but they have a bad connotation for many people," says Warren Schwartz, chef of Saddle Peak Lodge in Calabasas, Calif.

Undaunted by the negative aura that sometimes surrounds this fall and winter vegetable that grows clustered on long stalks, Schwartz claims he can "make true believers out of people who don't normally eat them." His secret: caramelizing them in brown butter.

"People who don't eat Brussels sprouts are like people who don't eat fish because they never ate good fish," explains Charlie Palmer, the bicoastal chef-restaurateur whose holdings include branches of Aureole in New York and Las Vegas and Dry Creek Kitchen in Healdsburg, Calif.

Palmer quick-braises Brussels sprouts and pairs them with cumin-crusted pork tenderloin.

Patrick O'Connell, chef-partner of the Inn at Little Washington in Washington, Va., speculates that some people dislike Brussels sprouts because they were subjected to overcooked samples left in a pot until the cabbagelike smell could "blow the lid off."

O'Connell and other chefs maintain that the greatest objections to Brussels sprouts -- the odor and bitter taste -- can be minimized or eliminated with proper handling and preparation.

Many say they prepare Brussels sprouts for sauteing, roasting and grilling by steaming them or blanching them in boiling water or stock for two to five minutes, followed by a cold-water shock. Some contend that more even cooking is achieved by scoring the bottom in a cross pattern so that the water or steam reaches the core as well as the outer leaves.

Tom Harkins of Philadelphia's Circa seasons his blanching water with caraway seeds, bay leaf and a mirepoix.

Others say they prefer to roast the sprouts because it involves fewer steps and cuts down on the loss of juices and nutrients. An example is Scott Cohen of Las Canarias at La Mansion Del Rio hotel in San Antonio.

"The simplest way to do them is to toss them in olive oil, season them with some salt and pepper, a little shallot and garlic and throw them on a sheet pan in a 400 [degree Fahrenheit] oven until the outside is almost dark brown," he says.

Chef-owner Kurt Grasing of Grasing's Coastal Cuisine in Carmel-by-the-Sea, Calif., notes that browning sprouts "brings out the nuttiness."

Some chefs bring out Brussels sprouts' nutty flavor by pairing them with -- what else? -- nuts. Noah Bekofsky of The Westin Salishan Lodge and Golf resort in Gleneden Beach, Ore., sautes sprouts with bacon, lemon juice, lemon zest and toasted hazelnuts. At Lotus in New York. Richard Farnabe serves verjus-marinated-and-roasted veal with Brussels sprouts, braised chestnuts and grapes.

Though most often served whole, halved, quartered or sliced lengthwise, Brussels sprouts also can be grated or "shaved." Sprout leaves, or "petals" are becoming increasingly popular.

"Many people don't even recognize them," Inn at Little Washington's O'Connell says of the leaves. O'Connell says he also substitutes the leaves for lettuce when making an Alsatian-style salad with cubes of Gruyere cheese, beets, onions, walnuts and mustard vinaigrette.

In her books, "Chez Panisse Vegetables," restaurateur Alice Waters calls for combining cooked pasta with sprout leaves sauteed in olive oil, red onion, chopped garlic, hot pepper flakes, salt and pepper.

Chefs often pair Brussels sprouts wit other fall and winter produce and earthy flavored foods, such as chestnuts mushrooms, pearl onions, potatoes and turnips. They use those or Brussels sprout-enhanced medleys to accompany red meats, duck and other poultry, game, oily fish and shellfish.

Alfred Portale of New York's Gotham Bar and Grill serves salmon with black trumpet mushrooms, Brussels sprout leaves and fingerling potatoes, a dish showcased in his book, "Alfred Portable's 12 Seasons Cookbook."

In her new book, "Mustards Grill -- Napa Valley Cookbook," chef-restaurateur Cindy Pawlcyn suggests sliced, chicken-stock-simmered sprouts with bacon and shallots as a side for grilled Columbia River sturgeon with thyme-parsley beurre blanc.

At Blackbird in Chicago, chef-partner Paul Kahan serves roasted breast of squab with house-made noodles, porcini mushrooms, sprout leaves and aromatics.

Schwartz of Saddle Peak Lodge says he has used a filling flavored with black trumpet mushrooms to stuff Brussels sprout petals formed to look like "little green cabbage cups."

Gotham Bar and Grill's Portale says he recently blanched halved sprouts and then folded back the still-attached leaves to create a "ruffle" look. He says he sauteed the sprouts in olive oil before tossing them in a reduction made from pancetta, onion and chicken stock. He says the fanned-out leaves "tend to hold sauce" better.

New York chef-author Gray Kunz, formerly of Lespinasse, in his cookbook with Peter Kaminsky, "The Elements of Taste," offers up a recipe for apple, Brussels sprouts and turnip "hash" with bacon. Apple "softens" the "earthiness" of the sprouts, he says.