Brussels Sprouts with Orange Pomegranate Sauce

There is something less daunting about nibbling thin slices of Brussels sprouts rather than biting the whole sprout.  Slices cook more quickly and absorb more flavor and less water – altogether a more pleasing experience.  The buttery, garlic and cumin-stroked flavor of the cooked sprouts blossoms with the addition of tart pomegranate syrup sweetened with orange juice.  This recipe takes little time for first class results.

1# Brussels sprouts
3 cloves of garlic
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 – 1/4 inch coins of fresh ginger root
1 tsp freshly ground cumin seed
2 tsp ghee
1 T olive oil
1/2-3/4 C chicken or vegetable stock

2 tsp ghee
3/4 C fresh orange juice
2 tsp pomegranate molasses
1/2 tsp sea salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Zest of orange, micro-planed

Cut stem ends off of Brussels sprouts, wash, drain, and slice into thin lengthwise slices.  Crush peeled garlic with 1/2 tsp coarse sea salt in a mortar and pestle.  This allows the garlic to develop a mellow liquid consistency.  Finely mince the ginger coins.

in a large sauté pan melt ghee into olive oil over medium high heat.  Add ginger, garlic, and cumin and stir to coat with hot oil.  Add Brussels sprouts and stir to coat with oil.  Add one half of the chicken or vegetable stock and stir to combine.  Cover pan and allow sprouts to lightly brown on one side for 5-7 minutes.  Uncover, stir, and add rest of stock.  Cover again and cook only until sprouts are just tender to the bite.  Remove cover and with a slotted spoon, remove sprouts to a serving dish.   

Add ghee to pan over medium low heat and stir to melt and gather pan scrapings.  Add orange juice and 1/4 tsp salt.  Heat orange juice, stirring to deglaze pan, add pomegranate molasses and stir until bubbly and syrupy.  Pour over Brussels sprouts and top with orange zest.  A thin slice of orange makes a nice garnish.  Serves 4 as a side, 2 for a main course

Comments

[Dennis]

This reminds me of the most delicious vegetable dish I have ever eaten, from a Napa restaurant called "Hurley's". They called the dish "loose leaf Brussels sprouts", and the plant had indeed been separated into individual leaves. The peppery, sprouty flavor outshined the very fine roast caribou it was served with. I tried to find out how they did it, but all they would tell me was that chicken stock was the cooking liquid, like yours. How the leaf separation was achieved, on what must have been a huge scale, they refused to say. I thought that a new variety of sprout might have been used, but if so, Wikipedia has yet to hear of it. I experimented in the kitchen, trying to get the leaves to separate in cooking, but I had no luck. Can you enlighten me?

Bravo to this recipe, by the way. It's probably perfect for people who say they don't like sprouts, and don't know it's pretty much cabbage.