Brussel Sprouts from Heaven
by Brianne
Upon request from Olga, the coolest grill master I know.
Adapted from “My Berlin Kitchen” by Luisa Weiss, a memoir sprinkled with yummy recipes from the creator of The Wednesday Chef blog. Highly recommended. Her recipes from her Berlin kitchen are in U.S. metrics, so I end up converting them these days for my Stuttgart kitchen, a sort of children’s telephone game. Which makes me laugh for some reason.
This recipe jammed with fish sauce, chili flakes and lemon is ideal “to taste,” if you know what I mean. And if any of those ingredients sound dreadful to you, we may not have the same idea of heaven …
- 500 grams (1 pound, more or less) brussel sprouts
- olive oil
- sprinkle of chili flakes
- 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 lemon
- fish sauce (Luisa recommends colatura, a Sicilian version of Vietnamese fish sauce, but we only had handy what we use for Filipino dishes. If you try colatura, let me know how it turns out. I’m curious!)
Heat oven to 200 C / 400 F or so.
Wash the sprouts. Cut off the tough bottom parts, slice them in half and discard any sad-looking leaves.
Toss with a tablespoon or two of olive oil in a baking pan. Don’t drench the dear sprouts, but I’ve only realized after multiple mediocre attempts at sprout-roasting that I usually don’t oil them enough.
Roast for 15-20 minutes, checking often and stirring occasionally.
Mix in a bowl juice from 1/4 lemon or so, a bit of zest, a tablespoon of fish sauce, the garlic and a good sprinkling of hot chili flakes. Adjust according to your inclinations. Spicy-minded folks might like a full teaspoon of chili flakes. Or you might like less fish sauce.
Take the sprouts out of the oven and immediately dose with the lemon-chili-fish sauce mixture. Toss.
Serve immediately, or eat straight from the pan, if you can’t resist.
Cooking Chapbook 
Where would I find the fish sauce? In the fancy gourmet grocery store in town?
Fish sauce is actually stocked in most typical U.S. grocery stores, including commissaries. (I was surprised to see in on the shelf, too.) Check the Asian food section. I’d use a little the first time, just in case it’s not your thing. It’s super smelly, but when you cook with it, fish sauce will mellow out.
I’m just now seeing your comment. You were totally right about fish sauce–smelly, but delicious! I didn’t have a lemon, but the dish is still yummy. I went a little too flake-crazy, though, and will tame it down next time. The best part? My husband hates this veggie, so I don’t have to share. 😉
Jamie, glad it worked out okay! I’m always a little nervous about recommending fish sauce. I definitely go overboard on the flakes sometimes, too. They seem so tame and pretty, but they are like little dancing flames on my tongue.