Recipe: Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Walnuts and Pecorino

the appetizer:

Roasted Brussels Sprouts turn this vegetable into everyone's favorite. From The 150 Best American Recipes.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts
with Walnuts and Pecorino

SOURCE New York magazine
STORY BY Rob Patronite
COOK Andrew Feinberg
Serves 4

No more wrinkled noses when people hear you're serving Brussels sprouts—they'll be begging for more. Properly cooked Brussels sprouts are sweet, nutty, and full of good flavor. In this preparation, from Franny's restaurant in Brooklyn, they're also anointed with olive oil and given a good roasting. The walnuts and pecorino are perfect counterpoints. Look for fresh Brussels sprouts on their long stalks in the fall at farmers' markets.

1/2 cup walnuts
24 Brussels sprouts, each cut in half
Extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Aged pecorino Toscano cheese for topping

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Toast the walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet for about 10 minutes, or until they smell toasty; set aside. Crumble them when they're cool enough to handle.

Turn the oven up to 450 degrees.

Toss the Brussels sprouts in a bowl with enough olive oil to coat each sprout, 2 to 3 tablespoons. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Arrange the sprouts in a single layer on the baking sheet and roast for about 20 minutes, or until fork-tender and some of the leaves have become crunchy.

Let the sprouts cool on the baking sheet, then toss in a large bowl with the walnuts. Drizzle liberally with olive oil, add a squeeze of lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper. Shave some of the cheese on top and serve warm.

Buy the Book

from:
The 150 Best American Recipes
Indispensable Dishes from Legendary Chefs
and Undiscovered Cooks
by Fran McCullough and Molly Stevens
Houghton Mifflin
Hardcover, full-color photographs throughout
368 pages; $30.00
ISBN: 0618718656
Recipe reprinted by permission.