Crispy Dijon Brussel Sprouts

Let’s get down to business, this week it’s all about Brussel sprouts. I love Brussel sprouts. I make them all the time at home but often struggle to cook them perfectly. They are easy to overcook and the resulting mushy sprout is disappointing while an undercooked tough bitter sprout is even worse.

I watched a tutorial online about how to sear Brussel sprouts starting with a cold pan. You cook the sprouts in a generous amount of olive oil with the lid on. The vegetables sear and steam at the same time, giving the vegetable a deeply brown and crispy outside while softening and cooking the sprout all the way through. In literally five minutes, your pan of Brussel sprouts is finished cooking. I don’t think I’ll ever cook them any other way going forward.

This also means while your turkey is resting and your oven is warming up the rest of your Thanksgiving dishes, you can throw this Brussel sprout dish together quickly and easily. Adding a bright, tasty vegetable is a nice balance to all the rich decadent must-have dishes already at the table. Even better, this easy recipe can be made year-around and pulls double duty as a quick weeknight dish as well.

Crispy Dijon Brussel Sprouts   (recipe adapted from Cooks Illustrated)

• 1-2 pounds small Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved

• 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

• 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar

• 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar

• ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper

• kosher salt

Arrange halved sprouts in single layer, cut sides down, in a large nonstick skillet. Drizzle oil evenly over sprouts. Cover skillet, place over medium-high heat, and cook until sprouts are bright green and cut sides have started to brown, about 4 minutes. Try not to lift the pan before the 4 minutes to allow the sprouts to sear and steam at the same time.

Uncover and continue to cook until cut sides of sprouts are deeply and evenly browned and paring knife slides in with little to no resistance, 2 to 3 minutes longer, adjusting heat and moving sprouts as necessary to prevent them from over browning. While sprouts cook, combine mustard, sugar, vinegar, cayenne, and ¼ teaspoon salt in small bowl.

When the sprouts are finished cooking, transfer to a shallow serving dish. Coat them with mustard sauce and sprinkle with coarse salt. Serve immediately.