Making It My Own: Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Glossy marinated sprouts.

Inspiration

This recipe is inspired by an old issue of Cook's Illustrated magazine from a couple years ago. I've made the recipe a few times pretty much as it's written, but this time I wanted to try some new flavors with it. I used my Flavor Bible guide to determine what flavors would go well with Brussels sprouts and came up with vermouth. 

Ingredients

• 1 lb Brussels sprouts
• 2 Tablespoons vermouth
• 1/4 teaspoon celery seeds, ground (or 1/4 teaspoon celery salt)
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder 
• Black pepper
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice

Directions

Preheat your oven to 500 degrees.

Wash the sprouts, cut off the stems, and cut them in half.  Put the sprouts in a bowl and add all of the other ingredients and toss to coat.

Sprouts on their way into the oven.

Pour the sprouts into a foil-lined sheet pan.  The recipe tells you to put all the cut sides down and I finally did that this time. I don't know if it was really worth it since it turned out exactly the same as the many previous times I've made this recipe.

Tightly cover the pan with foil and roast for 13 minutes.  Then remove the foil and roast for an additional 8 minutes uncovered.

Sprouts after their time in the oven.

Verdict

I really liked the flavor of the vermouth along with the Brussels sprouts, it really worked.  I used a dry white vermouth (fortified white wine), to me it tastes like a mild version of gin, slightly herbal.  Next time I would like to figure out a way to get the sprouts to absorb more flavor.  It always seems that whatever I toss it with only stays on top and doesn't really permeate the sprout.  Maybe mix them up in the morning and let them soak all day before baking.