As a kid, we called this lovely vegetable “Frankenstein heads”! I’m not sure which sibling came up with that name, but we all hated Brussels sprouts. My brother hid them in the bookcase at first and when my mother found them, a new plan was in the works. We were made to stay at the table until we finished our meal, but when the rest of the family got tired of waiting; my brother and I were left to finish on our own. Miraculously, once they all left, we finished! What they didn’t know was I would run to the door to ‘keep watch’ and then my brother would throw them out the window.
I hum a very different tune these days. I am completely addicted to Brussels sprouts…at least the way I prepare them — sautéed with roasted garlic, salt and red pepper, butter/olive oil and a LOT of lemon. I love, love, love them now!! Not only are these little buggars yummy, but they have INCREDIBLE health benefits (that is if you don’t cook them to death). The sulfur (aka MSM) alone in the Brussels sprout is amazing — I call it my “cancer prevention food”. With so much cancer in both adults and children, our diets need to be purifying our blood and raising our immunity. In addition to cleaning the blood, Brussels sprouts help increase circulation, reduce inflammation~which is some of the reason for eczema/psoriasis, and it helps in preventing urinary tract infections and constipation — the list of benefits goes on and on, and there are great sites that have info on it. Check out Natural Health Techniques or The Worlds Healthiest Foods. For my recipe…keep reading!
MY RECIPE:
A bunch of Brussels sprouts. (five large ones, chopped, will cover a large pan surface). I chop them in half, then half or in thirds again, so I have plenty of surface area to sauté.
Olive oil and butter. Enough to coat the bottom of the pan and a little more. You can use only one or the other if you prefer.
½ a bulb of garlic, roasted or raw and chopped.
1 large lemon. This is to your taste; it seems 1 large lemon is the minimum so far.
Salt and pepper to taste. I use red pepper for its anti-inflammatory properties and circulation. Use anything you like.
In a large skillet on medium/high heat, add olive oil and butter — let melt. Add the chopped Brussels sprouts (make sure they all are touching the pan surface — if not, do 2 separate batches). Let them cook a couple of minutes and then flip them to cover another surface. Add roasted or chopped raw garlic, then, salt and pepper and finally lemon. Mix it all together and let cook a few minutes longer. Make sure you watch them carefully they can cook quite quickly. You want their color to be a bright green with some browning from butter on surface areas. If they turn brownish-green they are over-cooked and nutrients are cooked out.
