This past Saturday I went to the local farmers market and to my surprise, saw Justine Doiron leaving just as I arrived. Although I’m in New York, I don’t see celebrities often (or maybe I just don’t recognize anyone?), so when I saw Justine I was totally starstruck – I kept telling myself to ‘act natural’ and not stare. Hopefully I will run into her at the farmers market again, and this time I can quickly tell her that I love her cookbook! And that I bought a whisk at E. Dehillerin when I was in Paris because of her blog (I didn’t have checked luggage to store a nice knife away and didn’t have enough saved up for one of the copper pots at the time. I made a promise to myself that when I settle down in a house that I will visit Paris just to do some kitchen shopping at E. Dehillerin).
I had bought Justine’s cookbook back in August in Fort Greene, and was lucky enough to snag a signed copy. After reading the book cover to cover multiple times, I started to cook recipe after recipe for myself and my parents (these recipes are so good you have to share the love). See below for some photos.
Ok, back to the brussels sprouts now.
This week we’re trying out two brussels sprouts recipes – Honey Mustard Tofu and Brussels Sprouts by Kristi via Avocado Skillet, and Lemony Spaghetti with Brussels Sprouts from Hello Fresh. Before you roll your eyes, yeah I tried out hello fresh in college, boo me whatever. Just try out the recipe.
Let’s do it.
Honey Mustard Tofu and Brussels Sprouts by Kristi via Avocado Skillet
Ingredients (serves 2-3):
- 12-14 brussels – stems removed and halved
- salt/pepper to taste
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 block tofu – drained pressed and cubed
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 2 tablespoon arrowroot powder/starch or cornstarch
- 2 garlic cloves – minced
- ¼ cup vegetable broth
- 2 tablespoons mustard (I used whole Dijon)
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Toss brussels in oil and salt/pepper. Place brussels on a lined sheet pan. Toss tofu in oil, starch and soy sauce. Add tofu to sheet pan with brussels. Roast for 30-35 minutes.
- When your tofu and brussels are almost done cooking, start your sauce. Add all sauce ingredients to a bowl and whisk until smooth. Pour sauce into a sauce pan over medium high heat. Stir until thickened, this will take 2-3 minutes.
- Remove sauce from heat and toss with brussels and tofu. Serve with grain of choice if using.
Yum!!
Review: I was pleasantly surprised by how well this worked – it’s an asian and american fusion of flavors that you might not expect, especially paired with brussels sprouts. However it came out great! And this recipe gave me about 2.5 portions. I heated this up the following day and the flavors were even better. The consistency of the sauce reminded me of traditional chinese take-out food, think sesame or general tsos chicken sauce consistency.
I chose this recipe because it matched brussels sprouts with ingredients that I wouldn’t have thought to put together. Both the honey-mustard and then inclusion of asian condiments caught my eye and I was curious to how it would play out.
Prep and cleanup were fairly easy as well. From start to finish (start being taking ingredients out of fridge, pantry, and finish being putting away the last clean dish in the cabinet) this recipe took about 45 minutes. I would clean as I go so that I could be in and out of the kitchen as soon as possible.
4 Stars.
On to the next recipe!
Lemony Spaghetti with Brussels Sprouts from Hello Fresh
I ate this so much in college. It came with portioned out ingredients so I had to improvise a little for this recipe. Still came out great overall and I know this is a recipe I’ll turn to in the years to come.
Ingredients:
- 8 oz brussels sprouts
- 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons of garlic herb butter (didn’t have this, I just sprinkled some oregano in)
- 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs (didn’t use this, the container at the grocery store was too large to justify buying right now)
- 1 oz cheese roux concentrate (I made a 1:1 butter and cornstarch roux with some parmesan)
- 1/4 oz chives (didn’t use this)
- 6 oz spaghetti (used linguine)
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons cream cheese (trader joes only had light cream cheese left that day, smh)
- 1 teaspoon chili flakes
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
Directions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Wash and dry produce. Mince chives. Trim and halve Brussels sprouts lengthwise; lay flat, then thinly slice crosswise into shreds. Zest and quarter lemon.
- Once water is boiling, add spaghetti to pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, 9-11 minutes. Reserve 1½ cups pasta cooking water (2 cups for 4 servings), then drain. (Keep empty pot handy for step 4.) Meanwhile, melt 1 TBSP plain butter (2 TBSP for 4) in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add panko and cook, stirring, until golden and toasted, 2-3 minutes. Stir in half the chives and season with salt and pepper. Turn off heat; transfer to a small bowl. Wipe out pan.
- Heat a large drizzle of olive oil in same pan over medium-high heat. Add Brussels sprouts and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until bright green and slightly softened, 4-6 minutes. Stir in a pinch of chili flakes if desired; cook for 30 seconds more. Turn off heat.
- Once spaghetti is drained, heat empty pot over medium heat. Add cheese roux and 1 cup reserved pasta cooking water (1½ cups for 4 servings); whisk to combine. Cook, whisking, until slightly thickened, 2-3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium low and whisk in cream cheese until melted and combined.
- Add drained spaghetti, Brussels sprouts, garlic herb butter, Parmesan, half the lemon zest, remaining chives, and a big squeeze of lemon juice to pot with sauce. Cook, tossing, until butter melts and pasta is coated in a creamy sauce, 1 minute. TIP: If needed, stir in more reserved pasta cooking water a splash at a time. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Add more lemon juice if desired.
- Divide pasta between bowls. Top with panko and remaining lemon zest to taste. Sprinkle with remaining chili flakes if desired. Serve with any remaining lemon wedges on the side.
Yum!!!
This dish never gets old. 5 stars always. Great way to eat brussels sprouts. Enough said.
This post is too long. Hope you enjoyed 🙂 Next week is squash!
-M3