Hot sandwich with Brussels sprouts

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Hot sandwich with Brussels sprouts

I have this thing about Brussels sprouts. 

Ever since I washed, chopped and cooked about a bushel of Brussels sprouts back in December (volunteering in Rockaway at a holiday party for Hurricane Sandy victims) I have been mildly fixated on these mini cabbages. At the time, washing what seemed like thousands of these little things, I thought to myself, "I could have washed 10 cabbages in 2 minutes and have been done with it instead of washing hundreds of these tiny things," but the resulting dish was so good that I was impressed despite being all Brussels sprouted out. 

Since then, I've most often had them sauteed to the point of light caramelization in good olive oil with plenty of garlic, salt and pepper, but lately I've started veering off the beaten path and tried shredding them. I still haven't found a good recipe for raw Brussels sprouts, but in sandwiches and toasts - they are amazing. 

I also like it that you can keep a pound or so of these in the fridge and use two or three at a time. 

My favorite hot sandwich these days is made with two slices of toast with smoked gouda, a few paper thin slices of onion and plenty of finely shredded brussels sprouts. Since I don't have a hot sandwich press or panini maker, I usually do it on the frying pan with a little salted butter. Yes, the Brussels sprouts tend to fall out from the sandwich, but that's good too. 

Today I tried an open sandwich in the oven - liberally seeded rye bread (from Zabar's, no less) with onion and brussels sprouts. I put them in the oven at 400F for 10 minutes until the cheese started melting and the sprouts started shriveling ever so slightly, then broiled them for two or three minutes until nicely browned on top. 

If anyone has any other Brussels sprouts ideas, let me know!