Roasted Garlicky Brussels Sprouts

Roasted Garlicky Brussels Sprouts are the best Brussel sprouts - crunchy and tender - the roasting brings out their natural sweetness, complemented by the garlic. Delicious! 

So many of the vegetables I grew up hating, I now love.  The baby green cabbages we call Brussels sprouts were one of my most hated, right up there with okra (except fried), merliton, squash, cabbage (except raw), turnips and eggplant. My mother used to make me eat these, which only increased my loathing.  I must have been about 12 or 13 when she had an epiphany.  She loved these vegetables and her daughters did not.  She finally said, “More for me!” and stopped forcing them on us.  Which, of course, opened up the window for us to begin liking them.  Go figure.

This is one of my favorite ways to eat Brussels sprouts.  If you give them a try and still don’t like them, this recipe works just as well with broccoli florets.  When my daughters are at home, I often mix the two in the pan and then they pick out the broccoli for their plates. Leaving me the Brussels.  And so the cycle continues.

Ingredients

1 1/4 pounds of Brussels sprouts

2 cloves of garlic

Sea salt

Black pepper

Olive oil

Method

Preheat your oven to 400°F or 200°C.

Drizzle olive oil on the baking pan.  Cut the hard ends off of the sprouts and cut the larger ones in half. 

Toss them in the pan, including all the loose leaves, adding another good drizzle of olive oil, until they are nicely coated.  If you need to use your hands here, please do.  I certainly did.

Spread them out in a single layer.  Sprinkle generously with seal salt and freshly ground black pepper and pop into the preheated oven.

Meanwhile grate or finely mince your garlic.

Roast the sprouts for about 15 minutes and then take the pan out of the oven and stir the sprouts around.  Add the garlic and mix thoroughly.  If the sprouts look dry, add a little more olive oil.

Roast for about 15 minutes more.  The sprouts should be nicely colored, but tender, and the loose leaves will be deliciously crispy.  Serve, making sure everyone gets some of the crispy bits.  They are my favorite part!