Roasted Brussel Sprouts Recipe

It's Easter Sunday and I am in a cooking kind of mood. I just posted the recipe for roast Pork Loin with Pineapple-Mustard Glaze over at my Southern Cooking site at BellaOnline and now I'm about to go make it for Sunday dinner. (That would be lunch to y'all Yankees.) I haven't actually done much cooking this month. i am fortunate enough to live with a good cook who takes up the slack when I'm busy. So roast pork loin and maybe some baked Brussels Sprouts. This is the recipe you make for people who turn up their noses at Brussels Sprouts. The recipe turns them into lovely, spicy morsels that are as addictive as junk food.  Really.  I promise.  (There are people in this world who will try to convince you that if you mash up steamed cauliflower it takes like mashed potatoes. I am not one of those people. But believe me when I tell you that the first time I made these, they didn't even get to the table--people were eating them right off the pan, standing over the stove.) Yummy and good for you!

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees (F).

Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick spray or linen with aluminum foil that's been lightly coated with olive oil.

1 1/2 pounds fresh Brussels Sprouts (You use frozen but fresh sprouts are dirt cheap, so why not use fresh?) 

3 Tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. Herbes de Provence

1 tsp. salt

tsp. (or more) Crushed red pepper flakes.  (Can also use 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper)

Combine spices with olive oil in a big Ziplok bag and shake up. 

Cut the tough ends off the sprouts and remove any wilted leaves or yellow spots. Cut in half or in quarters and shake with the seasonings. (Don't worry if any leaves fall off, they'll cook up nice and crispy.)

Spread the seasoned sprouts on the cookie sheet and bake for 40 minutes until they're crisp at the edges and tender on the inside. If desired, sprinkle with more salt before serving.

Serve hot.  

Soul Food Done Soulfully

My roots are in the south, culinarily speaking, and I get all the newsletters out there purporting to celebrate Southern food. Some of them take a very (extremely) broad view of what constitutes "Southern" but to each his own. One newsletter that never ever disappoints is Willie Crawford's Soulful recipes, which comes once a day (sometimes more). You can sign up for the newsletter at his site. You can thank me later, when you're full of collard greens with neckbones, red velvet cake and macaroni and cheese that has nothing to do with Velveeta.

A lot of the recipes show up pretty regularly (like a pound cake made with 7-Up) but this is the real deal y'all.