Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Do you like Brussels sprouts? I didn't think so. I didn't like them either. I was used to those slimy, stinky things my mom shook out of the Birdseye frozen food box that tasted half like freezer and half like sulfur. Nice. And then Ina Garten rocked my world. Ina, the Barefoot Contessa, advocated roasting veggies in her first cookbook (the best one, in my mind), and all of a sudden, I couldn't get enough Brussels sprouts. The trick here is to roast the hell out of these suckers, and use plenty of salt. Yes, it's okay to use salt on your veggies unless your doctor says not to. It's my uneducated opinion that any harm the salt may do is balanced out by the good of the cruciferous greens. The sprouts will get nice and caramelized, adding a bit of nuttiness to their salty richness. If any of the outer leaves fall off during the roasting process, they will crisp up and become little snackin' chips for you to nibble while getting dinner on the table.

Can you tell that I shake the pan extra hard to encourage leaf droppage?

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

as many brussels sprouts as you want to eat (it's helpful if they're relatively similar in size)
a healthy drizzle of olive oil
salt (I use kosher or sea salt) and pepper

Preheat the oven to 425. Trim the ends off the Brussels sprouts and place them in a single layer in a heavy duty pan. If the size varies wildly, you can halve the larger ones; put these cut side down in the pan so the flat side can caramelize (yum!). Pour the healthy drizzle of olive oil over the sprouts, pop them in the oven, and shake them occasionally--every ten minutes or so. In about thirty minutes, you'll notice that they will be turning a nice shade of brown in spots, and at this point, you can take them out of the oven, or leave them in a little longer if you like them more well done.

Don't be afraid of the oil. A little goes a long way (it becomes much more liquid when it's hot and will coat the veggies even if it seems like it won't at room temperature), but it adds a wonderful richness that you simply won't get if you go fat-free. And the point here is to eat the veggies and LIKE them, right? Trust me, you'll be a roasting convert from here on in.