of our sprouts are grown and picked by hand by our co-op member, Anthony Coker. He spends the summer picking courgettes and the winter picking sprouts before dispatching 400 turkeys and moving on to lambing his sheep. He used to shear sheep for a living, so he must have a very strong back, which is just as well because picking and selecting by hand to get reasonable quality is back-breaking work.
Sprouts keep well on the stalk and, provided the crop is reasonably free of disease and aphids, we will cut the whole stalk for the boxes during Christmas week. I would like everyone to know that I started doing this back in the 1980s, a full decade before any Johnny-come-lately supermarket got in on the act.
Storage and preparation
The stalks will keep for 2 or 3 weeks in a cool outside vegetable rack or in the fridge. Once the sprouts are picked off the stalk, their life is reduced to a week or so.
Peeling the outer leaves off a sprout is a tedious task but most people only do it once a year. I’m not sure if cutting a cross in the stem is worth it; it can make the sprouts go mushy. My approach is to do it to just the larger sprouts to speed up their cooking, so they are all ready at once. They take anything from 5–10 minutes to boil, according to size – try to catch them before they go soggy.
Think of sprouts as mini cabbages, so anything that goes well with cabbage tends to be a good accompaniment – caraway, bacon, nuts. And they make a good alternative to cabbage in bubble and squeak – or try Jane’s Bubble and Squeak Soup on Bubble and Squeak Soup.
Sprout tops
Before the days of hybrid varieties, it used to be traditional to harvest the apical bud (or growing point) of the plant in late autumn and eat it as a small cabbage. This has the effect of stopping the plant generating new sprouts and thus helps persuade it to put energy into filling the small buds higher up the stalk. An alternative approach if there was no market for the tops was to walk down between the rows with a mallet in each hand a few weeks before harvest, giving the heads a good thwack. Sprout tops can be excessively bitter and are best boiled – not a vegetable for the fainthearted. Check for colonies of mealy aphids lurking in the centre before cooking.
Bubble and Squeak Soup with Wensleydale Cheese
Jane got the idea for this smooth soup from Gary Rhodes. If you prefer it to be more rustic, just take out a cupful and blend it, then stir it back in to bring it all together. The smooth version is also very good finished with truffle oil instead of cheese.
Serves 6
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 smoked streaky bacon rashers, chopped into small pieces
500g potatoes, peeled and cut into small dice
250g swede, peeled and cut into small dice
about 1.5 litres chicken stock
500g Brussels sprouts, finely sliced
25g Wensleydale cheese, grated
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Heat the oil in a large pan, add the onion and cook for 5 minutes, until softened. Add the bacon and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add the potatoes and swede and cook over a low heat for 10 minutes. Pour in enough stock to come about 2cm above the level of the potatoes and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the Brussels sprouts and cook for 10 minutes more, until the vegetables are tender. Blend in a food processor or liquidiser (for a really smooth finish, pass through a good food mill). Reheat gently, season to taste and serve sprinkled with the cheese and parsley.
Crisp Brussels Sprouts with Pine Nuts and Balsamic Vinegar
Instead of risking the usual soggy, overcooked boiled sprouts – and the smell that goes with them – try roasting them instead. The balsamic vinegar and honey emphasise the natural sweetness of sprouts, while the pine nuts add texture.
Serves 6 as an accompaniment
600g Brussels sprouts, trimmed
2 shallots or 1 onion, thinly sliced
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon pine nuts, toasted
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
In a bowl, mix the sprouts with the shallots or onion, olive oil, honey and some salt and pepper. Transfer to a baking tray or shallow dish, place in an oven preheated to 190°C/Gas Mark 5 and roast for 20 minutes, until the sprouts are tender and lightly browned. Sprinkle with the pine nuts and balsamic vinegar and serve.
Wok-fried Brussels Spouts with Ginger
Sprouts are effectively mini cabbages, and can be shredded and stir-fried in the same way. Serve as part of your Christmas lunch, or on its own with rice.
Serves 4
3 tablespoons sunflower oil
2 shallots or 1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 chilli, finely chopped
600g Brussels sprouts, finely shredded
4cm piece of fresh ginger, cut into very fine strips
4cm piece of crystallised stem ginger, cut into very fine strips
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Heat the oil in a wok, add the shallots or onion, plus the garlic and chilli, and fry quickly for about 2 minutes, without browning. Add the shredded sprouts and the fresh and crystallised ginger. Cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add 3 tablespoons of water, cover and steam for 3 minutes. Season to taste and serve.
Easy ideas for Brussels sprouts
♦ Combine cooked Brussels sprouts with fried bacon lardons, then stir in cooked chestnuts (vacuum-packed ones are fine) and a little chopped parsley.
♦ Fry some chopped garlic and sage in a little olive oil, then add finely shredded raw Brussels sprouts. Cook for 5–7 minutes, until tender, then season and serve.
♦ Make some brown butter by heating 50g butter in a small pan until it just starts to brown. Add a tablespoon of flaked almonds and 350g quartered cooked Brussels sprouts. Stir rapidly, coating the sprouts in the brown butter and almonds, then season.
♦ Substitute Brussels sprouts for kale in Kale, Chorizo and Potato Hash (see Kale, Chorizo and Potato Hash).
♦ Toss shredded, very fresh raw sprouts with toasted sesame seeds and soy sauce for a quick, healthy salad.
See also: