Enjoying the first Brussels sprouts
I'm not sure how many
Brussels sprouts we'll get before extreme cold wipes the plants out,
but our first harvest netted rave reviews from Mark. I tossed
them with olive oil, salt, and pepper and roasted them in the oven
until they turned bright green. "These are even better than roast figs!" proclaimed my kind husband.
Of the bulkier crucifers
(exempting the leafy greens), broccoli is the most frost tender.
Even though ours are still churning
out side shoots,
these are less crisp and I can tell the harvest is coming to an
end. Our cabbages survived hard freezes in the garden, but I
opted to move
them to the root cellar to ensure they don't die
before winter feasts use them up. Meanwhile, the Brussels sprouts
seem largely unaffected by lows that have nearly hit 20.
The extra cold hardiness is a
boon because Brussels sprouts take forever to ripen up. We
planted ours at the same time as the cabbage and broccoli, and have
only had a small handful to eat. I'm hopeful that we'll get more
sprouts all the way through to December, and if not, I'll just plant
earlier next year --- I'm starting to get the impression Mark could eat
Brussels sprouts every day in November just like we enjoyed broccoli in
October.
Or explore more posts by date or by subject.
About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.
Want to be notified when new comments are posted on this page? Click on the RSS button after you add a comment to subscribe to the comment feed, or simply check the box beside "email replies to me" while writing your comment.
How long did it take approximately to bake them? I'm not a big fan of brussels sprouts (they're horrible when boiled, I think), but I figured I'd try this.
I like baking potato wedges in the oven, that takes about 20 minutes. Could I put the sprouts in with the 'taters, or would that be too long?
A lot of this country's brussel sprouts are grown around Santa Cruz, CA, close to here. We eat about a half-a-stalk every week when they're in season. I just read an article that said that in the past 30 yrs, growers have worked on breeding sprouts to be sweeter and not as sulfurous. Like you, we love them roasted with a little olive oil and salt. Hot oven, about 20min when they start getting crispy and brownish on the edges, soft when poked with a knife. My 7-yr old can eat the whole bowl by himself. Just so you know, the leaves of the plant are delicious too, so don't throw them to the chickens just yet! Slice them finely into ribbons and cook with a little ham or bacon, thyme, splash of water. When they're tender, top with a sliced boiled egg and croutons. Pour a vinegarette over the top - olive oil, little lemon, apple cider vinegar, little bit of mustard.
April --- I believe I roasted this set at 350 because I was baking cookies, but if I'm in a big hurry and not doubling up the oven, I'll go as high as 475 to get'r done.
Rena --- Good data about the new varieties of Brussels sprouts. I definitely approve of breeding for increased flavor!