Crispy Hot-Honey Glazed Brussel Sprouts
I find that brussel sprouts, like tofu, is one of those foods that is notoriously difficult to get crispy. Don’t worry, we’ll let you in on a little secret: Pre-heat a baking tray in the oven at around a million degrees (or 450ºF, whichever seems more reasonable to you). This small step can be the difference between the sad, soggy brussel sprouts that might have scared you away as a child, and crispy, crunchy, deliciousness.
While crispiness in brussel sprouts might require a little finesse, there is no shortage of opportunity for flavor, with all of those nooks and crannies for sauces and spices to get caught and absorbed. This recipe offers a hot-honey glaze with pistachio garnish that fires on ALL cylinders: sweet, spicy, savory, acidic, crunchy.
Put your mushy brussel sprout recipe to rest and check out this one below!
Yield : 2 Servings
Ingredients
1lb whole Brussel Sprouts
3 tbsp Honey
3 tbsp Red Wine Vinegar or Sherry Vinegar
3 tbsp Vegan Butter: we love Miyoko’s brand
1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes: optional but highly recommended
1/2 tsp Black Pepper: freshly-cracked if possible
1 tsp Lemon Zest: finely grated
4 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tsp Salt
1/4 cup of Pistachios
Preparation:
Preheat your oven to 450ºF, with the baking tray you intend to use inside.
Cut your brussel sprouts in half, removing any tough parts of the stem if necessary (but be careful not to remove too much or all of the leaves may fall apart). In a large bowl, toss them with the olive oil, black pepper, and 1/2 tbsp of salt.
Once your oven is preheated, carefully remove the baking tray, and arrange all of your brussel sprouts on the tray, cut-side down. Place the tray back in the oven on the bottom rack, and bake for 20-25 minutes. You’ll know they’re done when the outside has developed a ton of color (you want portions to be blackened), and the sprouts can be easily punctured with a fork.
In the meantime, pour you honey into a small sauce pan on medium heat. Cook the honey for 3-4 minutes, being sure to stir the pan well every 20-30 seconds. Add in your vinegar and pepper flakes, continuing to stir and incorporate everything well (it may bubble up, thats totally fine). Once combined, add your butter and salt, and cook on medium heat for another 4-5 minutes, being sure to stir every 15-20 seconds. Remove from the heat and let it cool.
Now is a good time to check on your brussel sprouts!
While everything is cooling (or while the brussel sprouts are still cooking), de-shell and chop your pistachios into small chunks (think half of a tic-tac).
Once your brussel sprouts are done cooking, and after letting them cool for 2-3 minutes, add them to a large bowl with your pistachios and half of your glaze, and toss to combine. Add more glaze if the brussel sprouts can take more! We recommend using half at first, and adding more if possible, just because different sized brussel sprouts and different types of honey can yield different balances of sprout-to-glaze. We don’t want a puddle at the bottom!
Garnish with your lemon zest and enjoy!
Best Practices:
As always:
Avoid packaged produce, or really anything packaged for that matter. This is not to say that you’ll always have the option, but when you do, go for it! For example, you may sometimes see brussel sprouts plastic-wrapped or lemons in plastic-mesh. These are all very often available sans any container, so take the opportunity to use your hands, smell the produce, build that relationship with your ingredients!
Try to bring your own bags when you go shopping for these ingredients
Make sure you’re not buying more than you think you’ll reasonably use! Ingredients like the lemons and brussel sprouts will not last very long, so make sure you buy with care! However, ingredients like spices, honey, and vinegar can last a long time in your pantry (but not forever), so if you buy more than you need, you’ll likely have plenty of other opportunities to use them.
These ingredients have been chosen with several things in mind:
Most of these ingredients are household staples that are relatively inexpensive and last a long time. If you don’t already have red wine vinegar or red pepper flakes, these are amazing staples in any pantry and can add so much flavor to any number of recipes/dishes.
The brussel sprouts can so easily pair with any number of nuts (or other crunchy ingredients), so we encourage you to try new things and be creative!
This recipe opts for vegan-butter-alternatives, however, you may have access to a sustainable dairy farm local to your town/city. We encourage you to learn about your local producers and make the right choice for you!
Did you enjoy this recipe? Let us know! If you really loved it, share it on social media and tag us (@groundedgrub), or, better yet, share it with your friends and family!