Christmas is coming and our Brussel sprouts are shaping up nicely. They are doing very well in the brassica cage, which has successfully kept the butterflies out this year. Keeping the butterflies at bay meant there wasn’t a caterpillar party chomping through the plants, which gave them a much better chance. It looks like we might have got the timing right too and our home grown sprouts will grace our festive dinner table this year.
Brussel sprouts were not my favourite food growing up, in fact I think it’s fair to say that I hated the overcooked soggy little stink bombs! At that time all vegetables were boiled and it made a generation of children think they hated sprouts, boiling them made them sulphurous and wet, it certainly didn’t do them any favours.
Luckily cooking vegetables has become much more adventurous and diverse with roasting way up the list. Brussel sprouts are perfectly suited for roasting, concentrating the natural sugars and making them sweet with a nutty char on the outside.
This is easy to achieve with the following steps kept in mind.
The best roasted sprouts aren’t made with the ‘tiddlers’; a bigger sprout, trimmed and cut in half has more chance for success, as there’s a larger surface area to roast and any water in the sprout can escape. Space around the sprouts on the baking tray is also important, as crowding will encourage steam, so make sure you use a large tray and, if you are really going for gold, place the sprouts cut side down and don’t move them about whilst cooking.
I’ve chosen spice roasted sprouts for this month’s recipe and served them with a fragrant tomato sauce and beluga lentils.
It’s based on a recipe for makhani gravy that I was shown in Jodhpur in Rajasthan some years ago. Makhani gravy is the base sauce for Chicken Butter Masala, Dal Makhani and Butter Paneer. Makhani means butter but I’m not sure why it’s called gravy, as it’s tomato based.
It is easy to make, and although the recipe below may look rather alarming in length, each process is simple and the final dish is an assembly job, so you can pre prep everything, including the sprouts. Just don’t put the sprouts into the oven until you are ready to go. If they sit around cooked, they may get soggy, sad and dare I say a little sulphurous!
Here’s the plan;
Cook the lentils and cook the makhani sauce.
Pre heat the oven then start roasting the Brussel sprouts.
Finish the sauce by cooking some onion in butter and transforming your makhani gravy into butter sauce.
Warm some plates or bowls. Put the sauce in the middle, scatter with some lentils and tip the sprouts into the centre. Garnish with freshly chopped coriander.
Spice Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Makhani Sauce and Lentils
Serves 2-3
Beluga Lentils
Put 100g beluga lentils into a sauce pan and cover with at least double the amount of water. Bring to the boil then cover and turn down to simmer. Cook for 25 – 30 minutes. Taste to check whether they are tender and if not cook for a further five minutes and check again. Drain and put aside.
Makhani Gravy
Ingredients:
• 1 can of tomatoes
• 25g cashew nuts
• 2-3 cloves garlic- peeled and chopped
• 2-3cms fresh ginger – peeled and chopped
• 100ml vegetable oil (rape seed or sunflower)
• whole garam masala – 1 cinnamon stick, 2 black or green cardamoms, 5-6 black peppercorns, 3 cloves and bay leaf
• 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
• salt
Method:Cover the cashews with hot water then soak for two hours.
Drain the cashews and put into a blender together with the chopped garlic and ginger and 50mls oil. Buzz to a smooth paste
Heat the rest of the oil in a pan, add whole garam masala and cook gently for a minute. Next add the garlic/ginger paste and cook for a few minutes then stir in the tomatoes and the chilli.
Bring to the boil then turn down and simmer for approx 30 minutes. Give the odd stir to prevent it from sticking.
It’s ready when the oil starts to come to the surface.
Add a little water if it’s too thick.
Butter Masala
Ingredients:
• 1 onion, peeled and chopped
• methi- a good pinch
• 250mls makhani gravy
• salt
• 2tbs coconut cream
• 2tbs butter
• chopped coriander
Method: Melt butter in a pan then add the chopped onion, cook for a few minutes. Add a big pinch of methi, then stir in the gravy and season with salt. When the sauce comes to the boil turn to low, simmer for a few minutes then stir in the coconut cream/cream. Check the seasoning.
Spice Roasted Brussel Sprouts
Ingredients:
• 500g Brussel sprouts
• 1tsp garam masala
• half tsp chilli flakes (optional)
• quarter tsp salt
• 2tbs olive oil
Method: Pre heat the oven 220ºc
Trim the Brussel sprouts. Keep the small ones whole and cut the big ones in half. Put the sprouts into larger bowl, drizzle over the olive oil, toss together then add the spice mix and salt, then toss again. Tip the sprouts onto a large baking sheet, spread them out then bake for 15-20 mins, until toasty and tender.
Just before serving melt a little butter in a pan (use oil if you want to keep it vegan). Add the drained lentils and season with a little salt then gently reheat.
To assemble the dish put some sauce in a bowl, scatter some lentils on top then pile the sprouts in the middle. Garnish with some freshly chopped coriander and serve with rice. It might even be good with roast potatoes.
NB Garam masala is a variable recipe whether whole or ground. Whole garam masala are the whole spices and ground garam masala is spices that have been toasted and ground. Same family, different purposes.
Methi is the dried leaf of the fenugreek plant. The Asian store in Spiller’s Lane in Clonakilty stocks all of the above, as would most Asian stores.
Sadly the world is still in turmoil whilst we celebrate another Christmas, so once again, let’s hope there is peace in the new year. Seasons greetings and happy feasting.
