These aren’t your mother’s (or grandmother’s) brussels sprouts.
They’re upgraded brussels sprouts with apples and blue cheese. Brussels 2.0, if you will. The sweet apples and savory onions naturally pair well together offset the sulfurous, cabbage-like flavor of the brussels. Toss in a few crumbles of piquant and creamy blue cheese and you’ve got a recipe for a marriage proposal. When I met my husband more than 13 years ago I knew almost right away that one of the ways to his heart, like that of many men, was through his stomach. But this recipe confirmed that. We were both relatively “new” to eating brussels sprouts at that time, having had them growing up, but never really embraced them (who can embrace the flavor of boiled brussels?) But this recipe changed that. When they hit the table I could see I had his attention. He took a bite and from the look on his face I knew I’d found the surest way to his heart and it wasn’t long after that that a ring showed up on my finger. Now to this day when I make them he’ll often say, “I’d marry you all over again.”
Weeknight dinner, Dish to pass or Holiday table
Even if you’re not looking for marriage proposal this side dish is where it’s at. Sweet, salty, savory and creamy. Pretty much everything you could want in a food. They’re delicious hot or cold and come together quickly when you’ve trimmed and cut the sprouts, onions and apples ahead of time. I just toss them all into a covered container and refrigerate them up to 2 days before tossing them with oil and popping them in the oven to roast. These brussels sprouts with apples and blue cheese make a regular appearance on our weeknight table and holiday celebrations because they’re just that good. And the leftovers are great served with a fried egg for breakfast or served cold atop a mixed green salad with drizzle of balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. If you want to make the dish dairy-free, Paleo or vegan, just leave out the blue cheese and add an extra pinch of salt or a sprinkle of fresh thyme.
Delicious and Nutritious
Brussels sprouts are great sources of vitamin K (blood clotting and bone health), vitamin C (immune system support, healthy skin and teeth and wound repair) and folate (blood cell formation, energy metabolism and heart health) and are particularly rich in glucosinolates, a phytonutrient that is the chemical starting point for many of the protective anti-cancer substances produced by the body. If you’ve been a brussels sprouts abstainer it’s time to revisit this powerhouse vegetable. These are nothing like the strong-smelling and bitter brussels you may have been forced to eat growing up. Because they’re roasted at a high temp for a relatively short time, they get sweet not bitter. Overcooking causes the release of sulfur which is responsible for the ‘rotten egg’ smell you sometimes get from boiled cabbage or other cruciferous vegetables. Roasting also improves the cholesterol-lowering properties of brussels which is yet another reason why you’ll want to add this dish to your regular meal planning rotation.
