Brussels Sprouts Fried with Bacon and Garlic
I love Brussels sprouts. They are probably one of my favourite foods.
If you grew up with Brussels sprouts cooked the traditional English way (boiled to death plus some just to make sure) I will understand your confusion with the above statement. I will also forgive your scepticism, as boiled Brussels sprouts are an abomination and a sure-fire way to ruin a perfectly good and delectable Brussels sprout.
Now that we’re on the same page about how not to cook Brussels sprouts, I’ll let you in on the not so secret way of how to cook them for optimum deliciousness – and it’s dead simple too.
Opposed to boiling them to death, and some - the key is fry them or, more specifically, fry them in bacon fat. When you fry Brussels sprouts in oil or fat, they start to caramelise on the outside and become sweet. They also absorb and take on the flavours they’re cooked with. So by cooking them with bacon and using the fat that naturally comes out of the bacon to help fry them, the Brussels sprouts take on that flavour. It’s the perfect pairing of flavours with the salty bacon and the sweet, caramelised Brussels sprout.
If after reading that, I’ve started to convince you that Brussels sprouts may actually have a chance on your plate, give the below recipe a go. I’ll often add some diced chicken breast in with the bacon when cooking if I’m planning on having this as a main.
Brussels Sprouts Fried with Bacon and Garlic
Serves 4 as a side or 2 as a main
Prep time: 5-10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
1 tablespoons oil (I use olive)
500gms Brussels sprouts
2-3 cloves of garlic
4 rashers of streaky bacon (or another fatty cut)
15gms pine nuts (equates to a handful)
50gms Parmesan (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
Start by heating a pan over a medium heat. While the pan is heating up, add the oil and dice the bacon rashers into small squares, then add to the pan.
While the bacon is starting to cook, prepare the Brussels sprouts. Cut the ends off and remove the first layer of leaves before quartering them. If you are using frozen sprouts, just quarter them as the first two steps have already been done (but fresh has a crunchier texture and overall better flavour).
Once the bacon is starting to brown, add the Brussels sprouts to the pan and stir through. The Brussels sprouts should instantly become glossy and brighten in colour.
While the Brussels sprouts are starting to cook, prepare and finely dice the garlic. I do this by cutting the ends off the garlic cloves and crushing them with my knife. Once crushed, the skin should just peel off. Before dicing, I then pour a teaspoon of salt over the top of the garlic and with the blade of my knife, start to drag it through the salt. This will help break down the garlic and draw moisture out. I switch between a cutting and dragging motion until the garlic is nice and fine.
Add the garlic to the pan and stir everything together. If the pan is looking dry, add a dash more oil but I find more than enough fat usually comes out of the bacon, so this is not needed. Cover with a lid, allowing the sprouts to steam in the cooking vapour, for a further five minutes, interrupting to stir the sprouts every 1-2 minutes to ensure they cook evenly.
Continue to cook until the Brussels sprouts have turned bright green in colour and started to caramelise slightly on the sides. Transfer into a bowl.
Using the same pan you cooked the Brussels sprouts in, toast the pine nuts over a low heat. This should take around 30 seconds – make sure you remove the toasted nuts from the heat immediately when they start to brown.
If adding Parmesan, grate and sprinkle over the top before mixing through.
This makes an amazing side to roast pork or goes beautifully with Beef Bourguignon as a rice or pasta alternative.
I also often eat this as a main meal with 100gms of cooked chicken mixed through.