We don’t think we’ve ever had Brussels sprouts from our Tucson CSA, but we really happen to like them, so, once in a while, we break down and pick up some at the store. As with just about everything we buy, we don’t know exactly how we’ll cook it, we just know that we’ll figure out something when the time comes. We started with a batch of our Maple-Glazed Brussels Sprouts, but, we noticed that these sprouts tasted slightly mustard-y. Interesting.
For the remaining sprouts, we looked through a couple of cookbooks, and, in Bouchon, by Thomas Keller, we found a recipe for Duck Confit with Brussels Sprouts. Of course, we don’t actually have Duck Confit just sitting around in our house, so, we thought that we could make some version of the Brussels sprouts. Well, our version, because we didn’t really come all that close to making Thomas Keller’s version. Still, it was the inspiration for this recipe.
Brussels Sprouts in a Mustard Cream Sauce
Ingredients
- 8 Brussels sprouts
- 3 Tbs salt
- 1 Tbs unsalted butter
- 2 Tbs finely minced onion
- 1/4 tsp finely minced garlic
- 1/4 tsp dried thyme
- 2 Tbs crème fraîche (see note)
- 1 Tbs mustard (see note)
- kosher salt to taste
Instructions
- Trim ends of Brussels sprouts and remove any tough or damaged outer leaves.
- Combine the salt and about 2 quarts of water in a large saucepan and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Add Brussels sprouts and cook for 8 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water until completely cool. Slice Brussels sprouts into quarters and set aside.
- Melt butter in a medium saucepan or skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic, sprinkle with salt, and fry until tender, about 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine crème fraîche, mustard, and thyme. Set aside.
- Add Brussels sprouts to onion mixture and cook, stirring often, until heated through.
- Add mustard sauce and a couple of tablespoons of water to Brussels sprouts and stir to coat. Continue to cook until sauce thickens and coats the sprouts.
- Taste and add salt as needed. Serve immediately.
Notes
Ingredient discussion:
Why use crème fraîche? Well, it doesn’t break (separate) when cooked, so your sauce stays a sauce. Plus, it’s slightly tangy, adding a nice flavor. We don’t recommend using that bright florescent yellow mustard for this. That would just be odd.
Procedure in detail:
Trim Brussels sprouts. After sitting around for a while, the outer leaves of Brussels sprouts get a bit limp and beat up, and the stem ends turn brown. No one wants to eat that, so, trim off the stem ends and pull off the wilted, knocked-around outer leaves from the Brussels sprouts. As a tip, you can keep the trimmings for the next time you make stock; we did. Simply put them in a tub in the refrigerator if you’ll be making stock in the next day or two, or, place them in a bag in the freezer. When you make stock, toss ’em in.
Blanch and shock. You won’t be cooking the Brussels sprouts in the sauce long enough for them to be cooked through, so, you need to cook them beforehand. We think the best way is to blanch and shock them, or, really, cook and shock them. This will not only ensure that your Brussels sprouts are cooked all the way through; it’ll keep them nice and green, and, remove some of the bitterness for which they’re known. Simply combine about 2 quarts of water and the salt in a large saucepan and bring to a full, rolling boil over high heat. Add the Brussels sprouts and boil for 8 minutes. Drain and run cold water over them until cool. Some people will toss them in a bowl of ice water, but we don’t. Once the Brussels sprouts are cool, cut them into quarters through the stem end. Set aside.
Fry onions. We used the same saucepan that we blanched the Brussels sprouts in, and you can, too. Simply rinse it out and shake out most of the water. Melt the butter over medium-high heat and add the onions and garlic. We also like to sprinkle in just a bit of kosher salt at this time, but it’s not necessary. Let the onions cook until they’re soft, stirring from time to time, about 5 minutes.
Make sauce. While the onions are frying, mix together the crème fraîche, mustard, and thyme in a small bowl. If you want, you could add a bit of salt, too. And pepper. It’s all up to you. Set the sauce aside while the onions finish cooking.
Heat Brussels sprouts. Add the Brussels sprouts to the onion mixture, stir to coat with melted butter, and cook, stirring often, until the Brussels sprouts are heated through. Since you blanched and shocked them, they’re already cooked and just need to be reheated.
Stir in sauce. Stir in the sauce, along with a bit of water to loosen it. We used a couple of tablespoons; the exact amount doesn’t really matter, because, once you add the sauce, stir everything around so the Brussels are well-coated. Continue to cook until the sauce is thickened and coats the sprouts.
Season and serve. Taste the sauce and add salt as needed. Serve immediately.
We loved these so much that we picked up another pack of Brussels sprouts the very next time we went to the store, just so we could have them again. If that doesn’t make it seem as if these are five star sprouts, well, we probably can’t convince you otherwise.
