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Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Apple, Pancetta, and Crème Fraîche

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Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Apple and Creme Fraiche

As food bloggers, we seek inspiration in a variety of places: cookbooks, television, magazines, blogs, food porn sites, and restaurants. I’m lucky to live in a city with excellent restaurants and one of my great pleasures is to experience the food from some of the country’s best chefs in my own back yard.

We celebrated Jim’s birthday in December with a fantastic dinner at 4th and Swift, one of Atlanta’s outstanding restaurants helmed by Chef Jay Swift. Everything about the meal was memorable but the standout was the Crispy Brussels Sprouts Salad with Apple and Crème Fraîche. I vowed after eating it to recreate a version of this exceptional appetizer.

Most people seem to fall on one end of the spectrum or the other when it comes to Brussels sprouts. I happen to love them. Jim, not so much. I would venture to say that this doctored up version of Brussels sprouts might just make converts of the haters. After I made and photographed the plate, I took it outside, where Jim was working in the yard, to let him have a taste. Before I knew it, he had cleaned the plate and was licking his lips.

You can serve this course as a pre-dinner salad or as a side dish. Served at room temperature, this dish delivers a wonderful balance between the sweetness and tartness of the apples and apple cider dressing and the savory pancetta.

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Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Apples and Crème Fraîche

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Yield: 6 servings

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Apples and Crème Fraîche

Ingredients

For the dressing:

1 1/2 cups apple cider

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 pound pancetta, diced

1/4 cup minced shallots

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

For the Brussels sprouts:

1 1/2 pounds small Brussels sprouts, trimmed

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 apple, cored and thinly sliced (I used Pink Lady but you can use your favorite apple)

1/3 cup crème fraîche (thinned with a little milk to drizzling consistency)

Instructions

For the dressing:

1. Bring apple cider and apple cider vinegar to a boil in a small sauce pan. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until reduced by half. Set aside and cool completely.

2. Brown pancetta in a small skillet over medium heat. Remove pancetta from the skillet, drain, and set aside. Transfer shallots to skillet and saute for 3 to 4 minutes. Add reduced apple cider and mustard and whisk until combined. Add olive oil, salt and pepper and continue whisking. Set aside.

For the Brussels sprouts:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Toss Brussels sprouts, olive oil, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Transfer Brussels sprouts to a baking sheet and place in oven. Roast for 15 to 20 minutes or until sprouts are browning and tender.

3. Spoon dressing on salad plates. Arrange Brussels sprouts and apple slices on plates. Garnish with pancetta and drizzle with crème fraîche.

https://southernboydishes.com/2014/01/21/roasted-brussels-sprouts-with-apple-pancetta-and-creme-fraiche/

Bill Harris

I grew up in small town Mississippi eating traditional southern fare.A lifelong foodie, I started cooking and experimenting with food at a very young age. I started Southern Boy Dishes as a creative outlet and a way to share my love of food.

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Comments

  2. I love roast Brussels sprouts! Best way to cook them, IMO. They’ll definitely convert most people who didn’t think they liked Brussels sprouts. This is such a great dish — really creative. Thanks.

    Reply

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