Seasonal local food recipe No.257 – Sprouts with chipotle, honey and toasted almonds
This is from a Thomasina Miers column in The Guardian. If you haven’t got chipotle en adobo (a relish) she suggests deseeding a dried chipotle, simmering it in water for 20 minutes to soften before pureeing it; failing that use smoked paprika. You could also substitute hazelnuts for the almonds.
The sprouts made a tasty supper with grilled sausages. Thomasina Miers also suggests serving over rice or quinoa loosened with sesame oil, and topped with feta.
Serves 2-4
Preparation time: 10-20 minutes
Cooking time: 10-15 minutes
Ingredients
500g brussels sprouts
45g almonds (optional), skinned
60 g butter
1 tbsp chipotle en adobo (or 1 tsp hot smoked paprika)
1 tbsp honey
juice of 1 lime
Method
Wash and tail the sprouts, cut away any discoloured/damaged leaves, and cut into halves. Put a large, heavy-bottomed frying pan on a medium heat and, when hot, toast the nuts (if using) for 5-10 minutes, tossing them every so often until they are toasted all over. Roughly chop the nuts.
Turn the heat under the pan right up, add the butter, wait for the butter to start foaming, then cook until the solids turn a rich deep brown and it smells deliciously nutty. Throw in the sprouts, fry for a few minutes, then turn them over and cook for 5 minutes more, tossing every so often so they colour all over.
Add the honey and chipotle to the pan, toss to coat the sprouts and squeeze in the lime juice. Leave to heat through for a minute and sprinkle with the chopped nuts before serving.
