Brussels Sprouts With Cashew Nuts - Rice -Cranberry Sauce and Turkey Sausage

About this Recipe

We often get asked what is a good way to cook brussels sprouts so they taste yummy. This recipe is one variation of our favorite method which is to boil them for a short bit to soften them, then to pan fry them to a golden brown. In this recipe we have a nice glaze which adds extra flavor but we have also done it without sauce and they taste pretty nice cooked this way too. Truly the best way to get a good flavor with brussels sprouts is to not overcook them. Like many other vegetables if you boil them for extended periods of time they becomes tasteless, with mushy textures. You are aiming for the beautiful nutty taste and dense texture that the brussels sprout can offer you when done right.

Where we live, you never know what the grocery store is going to provide in brussels sprout season. Sometimes they are small and perfect and just so appealing. Other times they are large with many ratty looking outside leaves and spotted and holey. Like all other living vegetables, they are subject to climatic conditions in their growing season as well as whatever else Mother Nature throws out at them. No matter how ugly they sometimes are, you can peel off those first few layers and find a nice looking little brussels sprout tucked inside.

Grandmother's Tips for Creamy Veggie Dip Recipe:

1. There are a few parts to this recipe as it creates a full meal, so doing in the order suggested will make it go smoothly.

2. If you are making for more than 2 people, you will need to adjust recipe accordingly and use appropriate size frying pans.

3. When making rice, always make extra. It will be a time saver for another meal. Rice can be kept refrigerated for at least a week in a sealed container and even longer in the freezer.

4. Choose evenly sized brussels sprout so they cook at a similar time.

5. Serve with our homemade Cranberry Sauce. Or you can use a canned cranberry sauce as well.

6. We suggest a good turkey sausage from a local butcher if possible. We choose turkey because it pares well with brussels sprouts and cranberry sauce.

7. Soaking the cashews overnight makes them plump, soft and easy to cut. Be careful not to have the heat too high so you don't burn them.

What we have to offer here with this simple brussel sprouts recipes is one of the food ideas we put together that incorporates several flavors, colors and textures. We are always trying out easy dinner ideas making up recipes that work with the season we are in.


Ingredients

(Print)

Makes 2 servings:

12 brussels sprouts, outer leaves removed, cut into halves

1/2 cup raw cashew nuts, soaked overnight, cut into small bits

Glaze for brussels sprouts:

2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoons grapeseed oil (or olive oil)

2 Tablespoons maple syrup

1 teaspoon cane sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Also needed:

1 tablespoons grapeseed oil (or olive oil) - this gets used to fry the brussels sprouts in

1 tablespoon grapeseed oil (or olive oil) - this gets used to fry the cashew nuts in

2 ounces turkey sausage, cut into thin pieces

1 cup cooked rice

Optional but a good addition is to serve with our homemade Cranberry Sauce.

Directions

1. Cook a pot of rice, we use a rice cooker. For 2 servings you will only need one cup of cooked rice, but if you cook extra you can refrigerate for another time. The rice will be cooking while you are preparing the rest of the dish. Once it is ready, just set aside.

2. Prepare the brussels sprouts by cleaning off the outer leaves then cut each one in half.

3. Cut the soaked cashews into small bits. They will be very soft from soaking and easy to cut.

4. In a small container, stir together the balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, cane sugar, salt and pepper. This is the sauce that will be used later to saute with brussels sprouts when at the frying stage. Set aside until needed.

5. Put about 2-inches of water into deep larger frying pan. Bring to a boil. Drop in the prepared brussels sprouts. Cover with a lid and cook 5 minutes to tenderize the brussels sprouts. Set a timer.

6. Once the timer goes off, drain the brussels sprouts in a colander.

7. Put 2 tablespoons of oil into the frying pan and have the heat on medium. Place each of the brussels sprouts into the pan with the cut side down. Let cook for about 5 minutes on the one side. Watch your heat is not too hot as you don't want to get them too dark in color. Flip over to brown the second side.

8. Meanwhile put one tablespoon oil in a second small frying pan. Add the cashews and fry them on low heat to a golden brown color.

9. Place the thin slices turkey sausage into a third frying pan on low heat.

10. Have the cooked rice nearby, ready to add to the dish.

11. Once the nuts and sausage are ready, add the glaze to the brussels sprouts. Watch your heat. Keep very low and if necessary shut the heat off after just a couple of minutes so you don't make the sauce too black.

12. Working quickly now, add the rice to the nuts and stir together. You just need to heat for a couple minutes as everything is cooked.

13. Dish out, serve right away. Add some cranberry sauce to the dish.

ENJOY!

Return to this Brussels Sprouts With Cashew Nuts - Rice -Cranberry Sauce and Turkey Sausage recipe or check out more recipes at Grandmother's Kitchen

Have you ever grown your own brussels sprouts or looked at a photo of how they grow. They are indeed a very interesting looking vegetable growing up as tall as 2 1/2 feet, they are a site to behold with the round brussels sprouts attached in symmetrical layers and rounds formed around the stem. They are a crop that loves a consistent amount of moisture and moderate to cooler temperatures. These plants yield more than one picking and you can expect to pick up to six sprouts from one plant every two weeks. So, like a tomato plant you get more than one harvest. The length of your growing season will determine how much you are going to get. The plant takes up to 95 days to reach maturity. California seems to fit the bill for the type of conditions the brussels sprouts plants like to grow and about 90 percent of brussels sprouts in the USA are grown south of San Francisco.

Do you use a rice cooker or do it on the stovetop? It was years before we started to use a rice cooker, as it was seemed to be an easy enough process on the stovetop. In fact it was one day on a garage sale excursion we came across the small rice cooker we still use to this day for $4.00. It still was in the box and it had the instruction booklet inside. Well, I guess we were meant to be introduced to the simplicity of a rice cooker, because that was years ago and to this day, we still use the same rice cooker and it is a favorite tool in Grandmother's Kitchen.

It seems like we can do no wrong because this little cooking device with its built in sensor, it knows when all the water has been absorbed into the rice and so it automatically shuts off at 212 degrees. You just need to be aware of the ratio of water to rice to add when you turn it on. We have one of the smaller units. The handy insert the rice is cooked in gets removed from the rice cooker, it has its own lid. Once the rice comes down to room temperature, any uneaten rice can be refrigerated in this holder. A great tip for the home cook is to have rice ready to add to stir fries or other quick rice dishes.

There are alot of pretty fancy and large rice cookers and if you are feeding large crowds may be a good choice, but if you are only making meals for 2-4 people cooker does not take up much space in the kitchen and works just right. Ours is small 3-cup dry/6-cup cooked Black and Decker brand.



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