Brussel Sprouts and Baby Bellas

Look at me go! A day after I say I'm going to blog three times this week and...ta da! A blog! And one on a side dish! Look at me goooo...

Ok, for a blogger, I'm a little bit too proud of myself for posting a blog. But seriously, I've told you about my new obsession with brussel sprouts. But it's definitely not an all-consuming obsession...there are definitely times I still thing sprouts rank right up there with lima beans (for the record, I have always and will always HATE lima beans. Seriously. They're the stuff of nightmares). But lately I've been having really good preparations of brussel sprouts that cook the sprouts until they're soft and less bitter and actually delicious. I beg those of you who think they don't like brussel sprouts to try them again--maybe not this recipe, but at a restaurant, where I can guarantee the preparation will be delicious (unless you're going to like, a kitchen nightmares restaurant...then you're on your own...)

Anyway, I've been ADORING my new cookbooks (my new veggie one, Fast Fresh & Green, where this recipe came from; Fish Without a Doubt by my fave Top Chef Allstar Rick Moonen, which is teaching me delicious new ways to cook my fave protein AND how to fillet a fish; the original food revolutionary's book The Art of Simple Food, which makes me 8x more excited for my CSA; and my Mindfulness at Miraval cookbook, which is not yet available online but will be soon here.) 

I have so many new recipes to try and I'm again excited about cooking at home, which, as I'm sure many of you know, you definitely go through periods where the LAST thing you want to do is cook. That's how I've been the past few weeks, but after reading through these cookbooks, I'm again excited by getting in the kitchen. And you all get the benefits of that, since I'll be blogging my version of some of the recipes in these books, as well as others I've developed. 

This first recipe jumped off the pages of Fast Fresh & Green the first time I glanced through it at my brother's apartment--my random cravings for brussel sprouts mixed with my favorite (which it was healthier but apparently they're not as useless as I thought because they give you vitamin D--who knew?) mushrooms! I changed the recipe as I'm not a massive rosemary fan (and I always have Italian parsley), but the original recipe uses two sprigs of rosemary that you remove at the end. 

Brussel Sprouts and Baby Bellas
Downloadable PDF available here

Ingredients:

1 lb Brussels sprouts
8 oz cremini/baby bellas, cleaned
1/4 c extra virgin olive oil
2 oz pancetta (original recipe called for bacon)
Italian parsley (original recipe called for 2 sprigs rosemary)
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter

Directions:

1. Trim the brussel sprouts. Cut the sprouts into quarters by halving vertically (so the base of the leaves is on each half) and then halve each half. Cut the mushrooms similarly.

2. In a saute pan over medium high, heat the olive oil. Add the sprouts, mushrooms, pancetta and parsley; season with salt and, using tongs, stir well to combine.

3. Turn the heat down to medium low and cook, stirring occasionally at first but more frequently as the vegetables brown. Cook for about 30 minutes, until the vegetables are well browned and the sprouts are tender. Remove pan from heat and add the butter, in pieces. Stir gently until the butter has melted.

Serve and enjoy!