OK, I’m cheating just a wee, tiny bit. The picture is not the completed sprouts – just them in process with the onion and pine nuts. The completed dish went really well with the chili glazed salmon, and leftovers are quite tasty even today – it’s just not as pretty and jewel-toned green as I like. Maybe next time I’ll cook the glaze separately and just drizzle it over at the last moment, thus leaving the sprouts at their green tinted peak; or just treat the sprouts the way I did long ago; cook them lightly and then toss with melted butter and wheat germ – this, surprisingly enough, was a preferred veggie at our house full o’ 20-somethings in Belmont, MA – where they were known simply as ‘heads’.
I wanted to do make something that would compliment the sweet chili, ginger and soy sauce I was using on the salmon; so I started by looking up the pearl onions I made a few weeks back. A few adjustments and the addition of some pine nuts and I was on my way…
INGREDIENTS
•1 bag frozen baby brussels sprouts, thawed and halved
•1 onion, chopped
•Pine nuts at your discretion (I just had a few in the freezer, so tossed them in, more would have been nice)
•1/4 cup balsamic vinegar (since I was adding some other strong-ish flavors, I used the everyday balsamic for this and not the 25 year old)
•1/4 cup soy sauce
•1/4 cup sweet chili sauce
•1 tbsp butter
Whisk together the vinegar, soy and chili sauces.
Melt the butter in a skillet and add onion, sprouts and pine nuts. Sauté until lightly browned. Add the vinegar mixture and cook, stirring often, until the sauce is thickened.
Nutty and tasty, and they went really well with the salmon and yellow rice; just not really PRETTY, as you can see here. Next time, I think I will definitely cook the glaze in a separate pan and toss the sprouts with it at the end. I will also add some ginger (1 tbsp fresh, or, now that we have it as an emergency fallback, 1 tsp dried and a dash for cayenne for bite) and will try rice wine vinegar in place of the balsamic.
It’s good to have options.