Brussels Sprouts with Harissa, Honey and Lime #BloggerCLUE

Aromatic, spicy harissa, honey and tart lime juice perk up the flavor of pan-roasted Brussels sprouts for a great side dish or serve over rice for a vegetarian main course.

This month my Blogger C.L.U.E. assignment is Authentic Suburban Gourmet and our clue was Autumn flavors. I had such fun poking around in Lisa’s blog with its beautiful photographs that I was drooling a little before I even got to the descriptions! I went about my search a little differently this time. Rather than searching for “fall” or “Autumn” I used Lisa’s drop down archives list and browsed through all of her October recipes from the last few years. I was sorely tempted by the Fig & Honey Infused Goat Cheese Bites, Pear and Honey Crostini with Spicy Candied Pistachios, Fig Tarts with Honey Pistachio Brittle and her Roasted Pork with Port Infused Fig Chutney but finally, I was seduced by these divinely spicy sweet Brussels sprouts!

Lisa’s original recipe called for sriracha but after three Dubai supermarkets turned up no Vietnamese hot sauce, I decided that a regional substitution would work. Harissa, a paste made of chili peppers, garlic and other spices is common in this part of the world and I figured it was not far off from sriracha which is made from chili peppers and garlic as well, but thinned with vinegar. Like Lisa, we are fans of the much maligned Brussels sprout but this recipe might just win over some naysayers too.

Ingredients
1.1 lb or 500g Brussels sprouts
1 tablespoon harissa or to taste. Or make Lisa’s original recipe with sriracha!
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon lime juice or to taste (I added just a bit more to make up for the vinegar in the sriracha.)
Salt
Olive oil for frying

Method
Trim the stem end of the sprouts and cut each one in half. Keep any loose leaves.

In a large bowl, whisk together the harissa, honey and lime juice. Taste and add more harissa or honey if you like. Set aside.

Lisa said to add about a quarter cup of olive oil to a large skillet but since I was using a non-stick pan, I just gave it a good drizzle of oil.

Panfry the halved Brussels sprouts and the loose leaves until deep golden brown and season with a sprinkle of salt during the cooking process.

Transfer the sprouts to the bowl with the harissa, honey and lime sauce. Toss to coat. Taste and add a little more salt, if necessary.

Enjoy!

Here's the list of our Blogger C.L.U.E. participants this month:

• Apple Coffee Cake by Jean from Lemons and Anchovies
• Applesauce Cranberry Bundt Cake by Aly from Cooking in Stilettos
• Baked Squash Stuffed with Homemade Applesauce by Kathy from A Spoonful of Thyme
• Braised Chicken Leg Quarters by Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Brussels Sprouts with Harissa, Honey and Lime by Stacy from Food Lust People Love
• Cinnamon Sugar Donut Muffins by Lora from Cake Duchess
• Creamy Butternut Squash Soup by Azmina from Lawyer Loves Lunch
• Fire-Roasted Tomato Soup by Christiane from Taking on Magazines
• Frangelico Squares by Kate from Kate's Kitchen
• Garlic Home Fries by Kim from Liv Life
• German Apple Pancake by Liz from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Honey Sriracha Sweet Potatoes by Lauren from Sew You Think You Can Cook
• Hot Curried Chicken Salad by Debra from Eliot's Eats
• Pumpkin Bran Muffins by Anna from annaDishes
• Pumpkin Bread with Pumpkin Ale by Lea Ann from Cooking on the Ranch
• Pumpkin Palmiers by Lisa from Authentic Suburban Gourmet
• Raspberry Cointreau Syllabub by Kate from Kate's Kitchen
• Witchy Finger Cookies by Sue from A Palatable Pastime
• Christy from Confessions of a Culinary Diva

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Bubble and Squeak Cheesy Tarts

Bubble and Squeak, for those of you unfamiliar, is a dish created to use leftover potatoes, cabbage, Brussels sprouts and the like.  You are supposed to chop them all up and fry the mixture, hash-style, until it gets lots of nice crispy golden bits.  Some people put leftover meat as well.  

In this version, I cook the potato and Brussels sprouts specifically for this dish, because I love them both so much.  Also the addition of a good strong cheese, in this case, a sheep’s milk one from Greece, elevates this Bubble and Squeak to main course instead of just the next day’s afterthought.   If you do happen to have traditional leftovers, feel free to use them instead of my first two ingredients!

 I had never thought to use spring roll skins until I saw a Facebook post from a friend who had used wonton skins in a lovely baked egg concoction.  (Thanks, Belinda!)  The spring roll skins turned out lovely and crispy and didn’t over cook as I feared they might.  You could probably use ready-made puff pastry here too.

Ingredients

5-6 large Brussels sprouts

1 medium potato

1 1/2 oz or 43g sharp cheese

1 thick green onion or a couple of small ones

1 clove garlic

2 eggs

Sea salt

Black pepper

Cayenne

Olive oil

4 spring roll skins

2 oversized muffin tins

Method

Remove your four spring roll skins from the package and put them on your countertop covered with a damp cloth to keep them from drying out.

Slice the Brussels sprouts thinly and chop them a little by rocking your knife back and forth.

Peel and dice your potato.

Finely slice the white part of your green onion and clove of garlic.

Pan-fry the whole lot in a non-stick skillet, drizzled with a little olive oil.  Stir periodically and add a couple more drizzles of olive oil, cooking until there are a few brown crispy bits.  Add a little salt and a sprinkle of the two peppers.   Put the lid on and cook until the potatoes are tender.

Empty the skillet into a mixing bowl and allow to cool. 

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.

Meanwhile, grate your cheese.

Drizzle a little olive oil on one spring roll skin and spread it to cover the skin with your fingers or a pastry brush.   I must admit that I would have used a pastry brush but one did not come with me in the air shipment and I am still waiting on my sea freight.

Put a second spring roll skin on top of the first, making a eight-pointed star, and drizzle it with more olive oil.   Once again, spread the oil around with your fingers or a brush. 

Fit the two skins into your giant muffin tin.  Repeat with the second two skins and the second muffin cup.

Once your mixture has cooled sufficiently not to cook eggs on contact, add in the two eggs and about 3/4 of the cheese.   Mix well.

Spoon this mixture carefully into the two prepared muffin tins and top them both with the remaining cheese.  

Bake for 30-35 minutes in your preheated oven or until the filling is golden and bubbling.  Although probably not squeaking. 

Enjoy!