Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Shredded Brussels Sprouts with Lemon & Poppy Seeds: A Light & Healthy Holiday Side Dish and Other Brussels Sprouts I Have Loved...

Besides the fabulous friends I have gotten to know and the improved cooking skills, another big bonus that the world of food blogging has brought me has been the push to try new foods and to retry foods I thought I didn't like. Fennel, winter squash, saffron and parsnips are but a few of the foods or ingredients that have made their way into my kitchen and into my heart. Brussels spouts are another food that I was convinced I didn't like before I started blogging but now enjoy a great deal. My first real Brussels sprouts adventure was with a Tyler Florence recipe and my latest is this healthy side dish of Shredded Brussels Sprouts with Lemon & Poppy Seeds that I ran across in the November Whole Living Magazine.


In this recipe the sprouts are thinly sliced or shredded so that they are lighter in texture and the lemon juice and zest really brighten their flavor. This is a pretty and low calorie side dish perfect for a holiday dinner or an easy weeknight meal.

And in addition to being a low calorie addition to the plate, Brussels sprouts are an excellent source of Vitamins C & K and are a good source of folate, vitamin A, fiber, manganese and potassium, so load up on this dish and enjoy just a small portion of that green bean casserole!
;-)

Shredded Brussels Sprouts with Lemon & Poppy Seeds
Catherine McCord. Whole Living Magazine (Nov. 2010)
(Serves 6-8)

1 lemon
1 lb Brussels sprouts, stem ends trimmed, finely sliced
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 garlic clove, minced
2 teaspoons poppy seeds
¼ cup low-sodium chicken stock

Using a vegetable peeler, peel 3 long strips of lemon zest, avoiding the white pith. Thinly slice zest; set aside. Squeeze 1 tablespoon lemon juice and toss with Brussels sprouts in a medium bowl.

Heat butter and oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Sauté sprouts for 2 minutes, until bright green and tender. Add salt, pepper, garlic, zest, and poppy seeds and cook an additional 2 minutes. Pour in stock and cook 1 minute more. Serve.

Per serving: 74 calories; 2g saturated fat; 3g unsaturated fat; 5mg cholesterol; 7g carb; 21mg sodium; 3g protein; 16g fiber


Notes/Results: Light and tasty, this is a side dish that tastes great and won't weigh you down, making it a perfect addition to a holiday table. Shredding the sprouts makes for a pretty presentation, as do the lemon zest and poppy seeds mixed in. Once the Brussels sprouts are sliced, this recipe goes together in just a few minutes. I cooked these for a healthy cooking demo at Whole Foods last week and quite a few people who said they normally didn't like Brussels sprouts really liked them and took copies of the recipe. This one is a keeper.

I am sending these Brussels sprouts over to Reeni at Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice for her special edition of Side Dish Showdown: Thanksgiving. If you have a favorite Turkey Day side dish, you can link it to this event here.

And I am linking it to the Tuesday Hearth & Soul Blog Hop hosted by my pal girlichef as well as A Moderate Life, Hunger and Thirst, and Frugality and Crunchiness wth Christy.

Looking for more ways to love your Brussels Sprouts? Here are three delicious recipes featuring sprouts that I also enjoyed:

Tyler Florence's Brussels Sprouts Salad with Pancetta and Cranberries. The crispy, salty pancetta combines with the sweet tang of the cranberries and the balsamic vinegar for a delicious flavor and the separated leaves make it light and crisp.



Similar in flavor to Tyler's recipe but the sprouts are halved and roasted in this Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta from Chef James Fiala and from the Bryant Family Vineyard Cookbook. Simple and really good.



Finally Brussels sprouts go in soup too, as in this Fall Foliage Lemongrass Soup from Vegetarian Times. The subtle tang of the lemongrass worked well with the veggies in this one, although I would cut the sprouts into smaller pieces next time.


So what foods have you learned to love?

13 comments:

  1. I was just going to give a search for a new side dish for turkey day and tah-dah! lucky me, I started with you. : ) Thanks for the yummy sounding recipe -- again.

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  2. wow this looks so good love brussels sprouts

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  3. That's something I love about food blogging, too...the challenge and the adventure (if you want it, that is)...I'm not sure of anything in particular that it's forced me to try that I didn't like before...but it definitely pushed me overcome my fear of the yeasties!! The shredded sprouts sound like a great side dish...and everything else sounds delicious, too :D

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  4. good for you :) I've re-connected with celery, lotus root & shiitake (as long as it is fresh).

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  5. I never thought I like brussels sprouts either until I started getting adventuresome in my food blogging!

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  6. Deb - I'm a lover of brussel sprouts and love this version you shared with the lemon and poppy seeds. Sounds like a very clean and light recipe.

    I'm trying hard to think of something that I didn't like prior to blogging. I think what comes to mind is more of the things that I never knew to try, like coconut milk. I probably would've never tried it if it weren't for blogging and I absolutely love it now.

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  7. will keep these in mind for thanksgiving!

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  8. Hi Deb, I just love brussels. But I'm the only one in this household that does LOL.

    Fab recipe and I love the brussels in the soup too.

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  9. looks delicious.. :) bookmarked.

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  10. I adore brussels although I'm not sure whether I had ever even tasted them before blogging so who knows whether I would have liked them! I wish I could serve this at Thanksgiving but one of my uncles can't eat poppy seeds. Oy. Oh well. I'll make it for myself. More for me!

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  11. This is one I've learned to like! My Dad loves them and is always asking me to cook them. I love the idea of shredding them - will have to make these for him! Thanks for linking it up with the Showdown!

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  12. Deb I love brussels sprouts, so I definitely have to try this version when the season comes around again. Love the look of that Tyler Florence version too with the pancetta (what's not to love about that?) and cranberries :-)
    Sue

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  13. Julee--hope you like it--it's nice and light and tasty too. ;-)

    Rebecca--thank you!

    Heather--the pushing into trying and doing new things is such a benefit. ;-)

    Kat--I just bought lotus root today to do something with. ;-)

    Pam--good! a fellow convert! ;-)

    Kim--for me too--it got me to try many new foods and ingredients. ;-)

    Mr Pineapple Man--thanks for stopping by. Hope you enjoy the recipe. ;-)

    Debs--I just did a half portion of this one so it is easy to reduce.
    ;-)

    Kurinji--thank you! Hope you enjoy it. ;-)

    Joanne--bummer about the poppy seeds. Guess you'll have to do the pancetta one. ;-)

    Reeni--shredding really makes them so light and delicious. ;-)

    Sue--yes the pancetta one was my first discovering I did in fact like them. ;-) They are both keeper recipes.

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