– Sauteed Brussels Sprouts – one of my favorite Thanksgiving sides recipes! –
I love Brussels sprouts, so I dig up my favorite Brussels sprouts recipe the moment I see these mini cabbage-looking guys pop up at my local farmers market. Something about their diminutive size and bright green color just tickles me. Don’t tell anyone, but I have dreams where I’m rolling around in a huge bin full of Brussels sprouts, tossing them in every direction like confetti. Does that make me weird?
Instead of buying Brussels sprouts loose, I buy them on the stalk – that way I get the joy of popping the little buggers off with a paring knife. In my experience, they tend to last longer if you buy them on the stalk, since you’re able to stick the end in a bowl of water, much like you would do with a bouquet of flowers. I’ve kept my Brussels sprouts fresh for over a week this way.
Since I’ve got a bit of a sweet tooth, I tend to like my savory dishes with a touch of fruit to add a sweet element to the overall flavor. This Brussels sprouts recipe, however, is more tart than sweet. The tartness of the apricots rounds out the bitter Brussels sprouts perfectly. If you’re feeling festive, you can substitute dried cranberries for the apricots, making a more traditional Thanksgiving dish. This recipe is can easily be made vegan-friendly by using olive oil in place of bacon fat.
Another thing I love about this dish – it fries up well the next day for breakfast. Do I hear a collective wince, followed by the question: “Brussels sprouts for breakfast?” Hey, don’t knock it till you’ve tried it.
- Serves: 6
- Calories: 173
- Fat: 10g
- Saturated fat: 3g
- Unsaturated fat: 6g
- Carbohydrates: 21g
- Sodium: 55mg
- Fiber: 5g
- Protein: 4g
- Cholesterol: 7mg
- 1/4 cup dried apricots, chopped coarsely
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 1 pound fresh Brussels sprouts, trimmed
- 1/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
- 3 tablespoons bacon fat (or butter for vegetarian, or olive oil for vegan)
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
- 2 Fuyu persimmons, chopped
- Place apricots in a bowl with warm water and let sit for 20 minutes. Drain apricots and set aside, discarding water.
- Wash and dry Brussels sprouts. Slice thinly using either a knife or the disk attachment of your food processor.
- Heat a small frying pan over medium heat and add walnuts, agitating occasionally. Toast until they darken in color a bit and become fragrant, about 3 minutes. Set aside.
- In a medium saute pan, melt bacon fat (or oil of your choice). Add the Brussels sprouts, salt, pepper, persimmon, and apricots, stirring well, cooking just until the Brussels sprouts turn bright green and are tender to the bite, about 5 minutes. Stir in walnuts and cook for 1 minute. Serve hot.
OK: yum. I was loving this recipe from the beginning, and then I got to “bacon fat”–that totally puts it over the top. Yowza.
Brussels Sprouts are a fav here. I look forward to trying this holiday recipe. Thanks!
This sounds wonderful, and very unique to use the persimmons with brussels sprouts! Happy Thanksgiving.
Thanks, I was looking for a new side dish to introduce this Thanksgiving and I think I will try this brussels sprouts recipe out. The walnuts and bacon fat is what really made me fall in love with this recipe. I hope it tastes as good as it sounds.
LOVE this recipe – could absolutely eat it for breakfast!
I’m used to roasting brussels sprouts. this sounds like a good way to cook them too — I’ll try it out.
I didn’t always love Brussels Sprouts until about a year ago when I discovered just how wonderful they really are. So BS and apricots sounds great, as I love tart. The tarter the better for me.
Thanks for the recipe. Must try it!
I like roasted brussel sprouts, had not thought of sllcing them thinly and frying. I’ll be trying that. thanks.
Like several of your other recipes, this one got bookmarked on my computer. I have a feeling it might become a standard in our house!
Love Brussels Sprouts here, too! I think they’re just so cute, and so good for us, too. Thanks for yet another inventive and creative recipe, Stephanie. Can’t wait to try it.
I love brussels sprouts too–where did they get the reputation for being awful? I’m going to try this–maybe throw a few bacon crumbles in with the fat…
Wow! Brussels Sprouts and persimmons- how did I not see this recipe before? This is perfect for the persimmons in our back yard. I love brussels sprouts, too. Great Combo!
-Sea
Gotta try this one, Steph. May yet find a way to work persimmons into my repertoire.
This is definitely a different take on brussel sprouts for me, I will have to give it a try.