brussels sprouts Archives - Proud Italian Cook

Brussels Sprouts, Italian Sausage and Balsamic Glaze

November 9, 2017 by Marie 7 Comments

If brussels sprouts always seem to make an appearance on your holiday table then you’re in for a real treat with this delicious combination. Roasted brussels sprouts tossed together with the flavors of sweet Italian sausage flecked with fennel and spices and adorned with a rich, aged balsamic glaze.

This creation came to me last year by way of a friend and fellow blogger Lori, at Taste With The Eyes and I’ve been making it ever since. I served it for my family last Thanksgiving and I have to say not only does it taste amazing, it makes a gorgeous presentation on the table.

Those of you who are on the fence about brussels sprouts I urge you to give this a try, the combination of the Italian sausage and the sweet balsamic glaze helps to cut the slight bitterness of the brussels sprouts, and roasting them heightens the flavor.

The holidays are upon us with Thanksgiving right around the corner so get out your prettiest platter out and grace your table with this amazing side dish!

Follow me on Instagram to see what else I’m cooking up during the week as well as this holiday season.

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Brussels Sprouts, Italian Sausage and Balsamic Glaze

Author: Marie

Ingredients

Brussels sprouts, normal to small size
Italian sausage, sweet with fennel
Good quality balsamic glaze in a squeeze bottle for easy decorating
parsley
olive oil

Instructions

Heat oven to 400 degrees
Slice your sprouts in half lengthwise
Toss sprouts with a good drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper
Place onto a rimmed baking sheet cut side down and roast until tender and golden but not overcooked or too deep of a caramelization.
In the meantime remove sausage from casing, place into a skillet on the stove and crumble it into bite size pieces.
Cook sausage until completely done, remove and drain on paper towel.
Toss the roasted sprouts with the cooked sausage, add some chopped parsley and place it all on a beautiful platter preferably with a rim so you can decorate it with the glaze.
When your ready to serve and eat it drizzle some balsamic glaze all over the sprouts and sausage ( go light it's very potent, taste to see if it's to your liking) then decorate the rim of the platter with more of the glaze.
NOTE:
You can make this ahead of time and heat it up, everything EXCEPT the glaze, do that the last minute.
Don't get too hung up about amounts just put it together, it all works!

7 Comments Filed Under: Side Dishes, Vegetables Tagged: balsamic glaze, brussels sprouts, Italian sausage, Thanksgiving

Savory Squash and Brussels Sprout Flatbread

October 29, 2015 by Marie 11 Comments

I can’t tell you how much I love making making flatbread pizzas, every body seems to love them and when I’m pressed for time I can whip one up in a few minutes. What I like about flatbread pizza is that you can make them so many different ways, actually using whatever you have on hand in your fridge. They bake up with a nice crispy crust that’s able to hold up to whatever you place on top, think leftover chicken, veggies, cheese, you don’t need much of each, actually less is more. Here’s some other ones I’ve made in the past.

I use lavash bread, there’s many different brands and you can find them at almost any large grocery store, I keep a couple of packages in my freezer at all times. Honestly, even if you take them straight out of the freezer they only take a few minutes to defrost, which is great for busy days and unexpected guests.

Last week I bought a butterkin squash at my farmers market, which is now officially closed for the season, sniff sniff. They told me I should try it, that it was creamy and delicious, a cross between butternut squash and pumpkin. I loved it and would buy it again, to me it tasted like a more intense butternut squash and it had an amazing orange color, so fall like!

I decided to make a puree from it by first roasting it then scooping out the cooked pulp and smoothing it all out in my food processor, you could actually do this with any type winter squash, it’s nice to have on hand and I’ve been using it in a bunch of different things all week.

For instance, I used some of the puree for the base of my flatbread, I put a couple of tablespoons into a little ricotta and spread it on as my first layer, it was a nice little twist and enhanced all the flavors of the other ingredients that I used on top.

My next layer was shredded mozzarella, then pre-roasted delicata squash rings, ending with shaved, pre- roasted brussels sprouts that were tossed in olive oil and parmesan cheese, both were leftovers in my fridge and when all put together it was out of this world good!

A few tips for the flatbread, brush olive oil on both sides, place on a baking sheet, top with ingredients and bake at 400 degrees for no more then 10 minutes, that’s it!

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11 Comments Filed Under: Fall, Pizza, Uncategorized Tagged: brussels sprouts, flatbread pizza, squash

Brussels Sprout, Kale and Corn Pie

November 21, 2014 by Marie 3 Comments

With Thanksgiving less than a week away I’m sure all of your menus are pretty much planned and now the cooking and prepping begins!

I don’t know about you, but until then I’m not cooking anything very elaborate, in fact all these ingredients for this luscious pie were just sitting in my fridge, and I bet most of them are in your fridge right about now.

I went easy on myself, I had a store-bought pie crust handy, some brussels sprouts that I bought way too much of, and kale, I always have kale, but spinach or swiss chard would work equally as well. Oh, and frozen corn, we all have some of that don’t we?

I added a small leek, but an onion would do, and one clove of garlic. Then you whisk up a custard of eggs and cream and add some wonderful melt-y cheese and the end result is a wonderful, savory pie/ quiche/tart, call it whatever you want, I call it delicioso!

I prefer pulling the looser outer leaves off of my brussels sprouts then slicing what’s left, I think it looks prettier, but it is time consuming so you don’t have to do that, you can just shred or slice them up or even use leftover cooked sprouts.

Roll out your dough, then pre-cook it for 7 minutes until set using pie weights.

Saute the brussels sprouts and kale until they start to wilt, adding them in raw is not good, then crisp up your leeks or onion.

Then a mixture of grated parmesan or romano and a shredded cheese of your choice, maybe a fontina or chedder, something that melts nice, I had a package of Gruyere that I wanted to use up.

After the piecrust is precooked add all the sauteed veggies, top with the cheese and pour on the eggy custard.

I like to reserve some of the veggies to place on top after you add the custard and cheese because it tends to cover everything up.

You can add a salad to this if you’d like, or just cut a nice wedge and pour a glass of wine like I did, it’s a quick eat when you’re busy, like prepping for the holidays, and you’ll be very happy to have leftovers for the next day!

I probably won’t be posting much until after Thanksgiving, but if you want to see what I’m up to, pretty much on a daily basis, follow me here on Instagram!

Brussels Sprout, Kale and Corn Pie

Ingredients

1 9" piecrust, homemade or store-bought
3 cups of slightly cooked and wilted brussels sprouts
3 leaves of kale cut chiffonade style sauteed, slightly cooked and wilted down
½ cup, frozen corn,
1 small leek, or onion, sauteed and caramelized
1 garlic clove, minced
3 branches of fresh thyme
1 cup of shredded cheese, Gruyere, fontina or chedder
⅓ cup grated parmesan or romano
3 whole eggs
1¼ cup of heavy cream or half and half
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Heat oven to 400 degrees, roll out piecrust and place into a 9" pie plate that has been brushed with olive oil.
Add a piece of parchment on top and some pie weights, or dry beans. Place on a baking sheet and cook for 7 minutes, then remove and cool and reduce oven to 375.
Saute the brussels sprouts, kale just until it starts to wilt, you could add the frozen corn also, then let it cool down.
Saute the leek, garlic and thyme in a drizzle of olive oil until nicely golden, let cool, then mix all the veggies together.
Whisk up the eggs, the grated cheese and the heavy cream together.
Arrange all the veggies on the precooked and cooled piecrust, reserve some for top after egg mixture is poured.
Sprinkle the shredded cheese on top.
Pour the egg custard all around.
Place some of the reserved veggies on top.
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, let it cool down, then cut.

3 Comments Filed Under: Greens, Pies, Savory Tarts Tagged: brussels sprouts, corn, kale, savory pie

Shaved Brussels Sprouts Tart

October 15, 2013 by Marie 14 Comments

I always keep a box of phyllo in my fridge because I know I can create a quick and easy tart using whatever vegetables I have on hand. In this case I had a bag of shaved brussels sprouts that I got from Trader Joe’s and some leftover roasted butternut squash and before I knew it, a tart was born!
Phyllo is so forgiving and that’s why I like it, you can wing it, patch it and it still looks beautiful in the end. I usually use five or six layers for my 9″ tart pan, each layer sprayed with olive oil and sprinkled with grated romano or parmesan then topped with the cheese of your choice so that all the toppings can sink right into it. I like to use a cheese that melts really good like fontina, gruyere, mozzarella or asiago which happened to be the one I chose for mine. I recommend grating your cheese first then spreading it evenly all over the top, I got lazy as you can see, but it still worked!

My squash was already roasted and the brussels sprouts were quickly sauteed in olive oil until they wilted slightly.
Ready for the oven!

The phyllo gives this tart a nice crispy, crunchy bottom which is a great base to hold all your toppings. The sky’s the limit on what to top your tart with, another favorite I love is caramelized onions, butternut squash and kale, try that next time around!

All you need is a salad or a bowl of soup along side this tart and it becomes the perfect dinner, lunch or brunch.

Congratulations to Terri of Terri’s Table, you’re the winner of my giveaway and the book, SOUTHERN ITALIAN DESSERTS!

Shaved Brussels Sprouts Tart

Ingredients

9" removable bottom tart pan, sprayed or brushed with olive oil
6 sheets of phyllo dough
10 oz. bag of shaved brussels sprouts or shave your own by using the slicing disk on your food processor.
1 cup of diced and pre-roasted butternut squash
shredded asiago cheese, enough to completely cover tart pan
½ cup or so, grated romano or parmesan cheese
olive oil

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400F and prepare tart pan by brushing or spraying with olive oil
You need to wilt the brussels sprouts by either placing them in the oven on a roasting pan drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper or stove top just for a few minutes.
Place the first sheet of phyllo into tart pan, press down and fit it in, spray or brush sheet with olive oil then sprinkle with romano and black pepper, repeat remaining 5 sheets the same way making sure to always cover your phyllo with wax paper while working with it so it doesn't dry out.
Distribute shredded asiago all over.
Spread the sprouts all over the shredded cheese then dot with the pre-roasted butternut squash.
Drizzle top of the tart with olive oil and sprinkle more romano cheese all over.
Place in oven 20-25 minutes or until phyllo is nice and golden.