I know a lot of people hate Brussels sprouts. I maintain it’s because they’re not cooking them properly. I’ve challenged a number of hard core Brussels sprouts haters to try this recipe and it’s never failed to get them to reconsider their attitude about this vegetable. I don’t understand the objection in the first place, but these are good enough to get you past childhood memories of boil-in-the-bag mushy Brussels sprouts.
This recipe is pretty easy – you are going to cook the Brussels sprouts three ways in succession (seared, then steamed, then roasted), but none of them are difficult. You will need to pay attention during the first two steps of the process, but only closely in the second step. Like most of my recipes, the spicing is to taste, so I can’t really give you specific amounts. You’ll need to play with it a few times.
You will need:
2 pounds of Brussels sprouts, trimmed and cut in half (you could do the exact same thing with one pound, but I always make two because these are that good).
Coarse sea salt
Crushed red pepper
FG black pepper
Olive oil
Water
You’ll need a cast iron pan, or some other oven safe pan (you have one of those, right? – by now you really should if you’ve been following this blog for a while. If you don’t, skip the Brussels sprouts for the moment and go to your nearest Goodwill and find one, it will probably cost the same as the Brussels sprouts).

Heat your oven to 400 degrees, and place your pan over high heat on the stove.
Add in enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan, and when it’s shimmering add in the Brussels sprouts.
This is the first stage of cooking, you’re going to sear the sprouts in the hot pan until they are discoloring all over. They don’t have to be blackened, though some of them might be and that’s okay, but you’re looking for a nice warm shade of brown mixed in with the green all over.

While they’re browning throw in some sea salt and black pepper, then a shake or two of crushed red pepper (how much depends on the amount of heat you like). As you’re searing them shake the pan every so often to shuffle the side of the sprout that’s cooking. You might need to add more oil as they go, they will absorb a lot of it. When you have them pretty evenly browned you’re going to move on to stage two of cooking…
Leave the pan on the burner, leave the heat as it is, and pour water into the pan until it about halfway covers the sprouts. The water will immediately start steaming and really brighten the green in the sprouts.

This is where you have to pay attention. You want all the water to steam out of the pan – it’s cooking the sprouts through as it goes. Don’t mess with it. Don’t stir them. Leave them alone, other than watching the water steam out. But don’t let them sit around after the water is gone, they’ll scorch. When the moisture is gone from the pan you’re going to move on to step 3.
For step three, as soon as the moisture is out of the pan take it off the heat and pop it in the oven. Then go on with cooking the rest of your meal. They can sit in there for a while. You should leave them in for a minimum of fifteen minutes, but longer isn’t going to hurt. You’re drying them out and crisping them up, so longer is better. I’ve let them go as long as forty-five minutes while I worked on other parts of the meal. When you’re ready to eat, plate everything else then take the pan out of the oven and plate these. They’ll be a little crisp on the outside, and soft after the crispness. They’ll have a nice earthy sweetness, balanced by a little bitter from the searing, and just a bit of heat from the red pepper.
You could grate a bit of Parmesan cheese on them, but you don’t need to. They truly are wonderful just as they are.