Fried Crucifers

I just tried this fabulous recipe for fried brussels sprouts from 101 cookbooks.   

Golden-crusted, she calls them, but we know she means fried.  Mmm.  

 I have been on serious a brussels sprout kick lately.  I suppose there are worse things to be enthused about, though.  I have also been on a serious blogging kick lately.  Turns out when the husband is away, I do crazy things!!  ...like cook brussels sprouts and then blog about them.

He leaves big pants to fill.  With cats.

I changed the recipe enough that I think it merits re-typing, so:


Fried Crucifers
Stem and then slice ~1/3 lb brussels sprouts in half, vertically.
Break ~1/3 head cauliflower into florets.  Slice the larger florets in half, vertically.
Heat ~1T EVOO in your largest skillet over medium heat.
Meanwhile, pour some other EVOO into a bowl.
Dip the veggies, cut side down (or just dunk the whole thing for the small cauli. florets), into the EVOO.
Once your pan is hot, place the veggies, cut side down, into it.  Make sure that each cut vegetable surface is in contact with the hot pan.
Sprinkle with salt.
Cover the pan and let cook for 5 minutes.
Remove the lid and check to see if the bottoms are golden brown (you can see it on the edges w/o moving the veggies). If they're not, allow the vegs to cook until they are. If/once they are, stir them around a little to lightly fry the other surfaces and then remove the pan from the heat.
Sprinkle with black pepper and grated parm.
Serve immediately.

Note: plan to serve this on a night when you're cooking for 1-3 people.  Because all of the veggies need to be in contact with the pan, you can only make so much of it at once, unless you're willing to wrangle multiple pans.  Furthermore, Heidi (101 cookbooks author) comments that they're best when eaten immediately, so you don't want one batch sitting around while the rest cook.

Update: I made this last night with brussels sprouts only.  It's way better when you have cauliflower in the mix, too!