My household growing up wasn’t exactly rife with vegetables. We ate a lot of tomatoes, a green salad most nights, occasionally green beans, or artichokes or asparagus or sometimes even spinach, but the more esoteric or unapproachable vegetables were not to be seen on the dinner table. This is mostly due to my dad, who, while otherwise epicurean in his tastes, is not the most veggie-loving guy.
Because of this, I was never introduced to some of the “challenging” vegetables in their “challenging” form (presumably poorly prepared by a harried mother who is just trying to get her kids to eat something green for once). I first encountered parsnips while studying abroad in England in college (and they are DELICIOUS), winter squash (other than pumpkin pie) was at a little Italian restaurant in the East Village when I was in law school (wood oven, lots of cheese), and beets (other than the canned variety common in salad bars) were in a lovely fresh salad with good goat cheese. But the lowly and much maligned brussels sprout was first eaten in my own kitchen, thanks to a mouthwatering recipe in Gourmet magazine (it involved scallops).
Brussels sprouts have since become one of my favorite vegetables, with their nutty flavor, tendercrisp texture and whimsical form (my childhood of playing with dollhouses predisposes me to love miniature things). When fall comes around and I start to see those little guys in the market, they come into regular rotation — usually thrown into a hot oven with some olive oil and salt to brown up, but sometimes in salads, in sautes and in that scallop dish from years ago. Now that I am a brussels sprout fanatic though, I find I need to convert the unbelievers (like my dad), and olive oil and salt, divine though they may be, just don’t cut it.
Enter bacon. While I am still doubtful about the ubiquity of bacon (does it really make EVERYTHING better?) it does have a natural affinity with brussels sprouts — the smokiness and the salt really highlight the nuttiness of the sprout. Add some cream for sweetness and a touch of lemon juice to brighten the whole dish, and you have a brussels sprouts dish that even the vegetable phobic could love. Of course, cream and bacon do not a light dish make, but with the holidays coming up, this is a perfect dish to grace the Thanksgiving table as an alternative to all that disgustingly healthy turkey. (I’ve also made it with a tablespoon of butter in place of the bacon and it’s still pretty fabulous, in case you’re a vegetarian or don’t eat pork.) You might just find that brussels sprouts are your new best friend.
- 1 pound brussels sprouts
- 2 pieces bacon, roughly chopped
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, chopped
- Wash brussels sprouts, remove outer leaves and bottoms, slice in half.
- In a large heavy saucepan that has a tight fitting lid, brown bacon until crisp. Remove bacon, leaving fat in the pan.
- Add brussels sprouts to bacon fat and cook over high heat, stirring frequently, until sprouts have begun to brown.
- Add cream and a pinch of salt, stir, then cover with a lid and cook over medium low heat until cream is absorbed, about 15 minutes.
- Add lemon juice to sprouts and stir to combine. Finish by sprinkling parsley and crumbled chopped bacon over the dish.
I didn’t grow up with brussels sprouts either- but you are right, this dish is an incredible way to enjoy them! Just mention the bacon and cream and anyone will be willing to take a bite. =)
Bacon + Brussel Sprouts = heaven. The smokiness of the bacon definitely give the very earthy vegetable. And the addition of cream…these sprouts are on another level. Thanks for sharing!
I’m with your Dad on this one, but your recipe is making me think that I could give them another go. Love that you spike them with a little lemon juice at the end. Bet it cuts through the richness of the bacon and cream, and the natural bitterness of the sprouts (which is why I think I don’t like them). Thanks!
This dish sounds wonderful! I only tried brussels sprouts within the past few years, too, and they’re one of my favorite vegetables now!
Everything, especially Brussels sprouts, is better with bacon. Love the sound of this!
This one is tagged as “vegetarian”. I’m going to try it with veggie bacon, but it is definitely NOT a vegetarian recipe!
OK I absolutely LOVE brussels sprouts, but DH thinks they’re straight from Satan. Wonder if I could get him to eat them made like this? Not surprisingly, we pretty much always have bacon and cream in the house, heh.
Oh and BTW, yes, everything IS better with bacon. I’ve even had chocolate-dipped bacon strips which were truly transcendent.
I have recently gained a new appreciation for brussels sprouts and will happily add this to my list of new brussels sprouts recipes. Sounds great!
Hello, great recipe! Question, does adding the lemon juice at the end curdle the cream? Thanks for the posting
Bert —
The cream has cooked down and thickened slightly. The sprouts shouldn’t be swimming in cream by the time you add the lemon juice, and in my experience the lemon juice does not curdle the cream. Generally, if you use full fat cream, it will not curdle from cooking or adding lemon juice. Trying to recreate this with milk or half and half may yield a curdled result, however.
made ahead for thanksgiving tomorrow…I hope there will be some left! DELICIOUS!