A Perfect Thanksgiving and Holiday Side Dish!
I've made this the past few years and in usual Christina fashion, I didn't measure anything. For that I apologize and I will say up front, all measurements are estimated. Also, you may notice that in the above photo I mention Butternut Squash, this is an optional ingredient.
Ingredients
1 bundle Brussels Sprouts, quartered or halved (your preference)
1 large or 2 medium Sweet Potatoes, diced
1 small Onion, diced
2 cloves Garlic, minced
4-6 slices Thick Cut, Smoked Bacon, diced
2 Tbls Maple Syrup
1 tsp Cayenne Pepper, optional
2 tsp Paprika
1 tsp Brown Sugar
Oil or butter
S&P to taste
Procedure:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare baking dish with butter or oil.
Cut the sweet potatoes by dicing in equal bite sized pieces. In order to make sure sweet potatoes are cooked tender, place in microwave for about one minute or parboil until fork tender. Place in baking dish and roast for about 10 minutes.
In the meantime, cut Brussels sprouts by quartering. Dice onion and garlic. Season all with salt and pepper, to taste (but in my opinion Brussels sprouts need quite a bit of salt) and 1 tsp paprika, place in the baking dish with the potatoes at the 10 minute mark and bake for 10 minutes longer. This is by eye and taste, Brussels sprouts tend to loose their bright beautiful green color, just like all greens, the longer they cook. This is what, I believe, turns most people off of this wonderfully tasty vegetable. Cooking them for 10 minutes, until just slightly browned will keep their bright color and keep their bite instead of making them mushy.
While the vegetables are roasting, mix together the brown sugar, cayenne pepper and the rest of the paprika. Coat your bacon with a light layer of maple syrup, I use a pastry brush to just lightly coat the bacon. Then sprinkle with the sugar and pepper mix you just made. On the stove top cook the bacon until *just under your preference. Once finished, diced up and top your roasted vegetable mix with the diced candied bacon and the rest of your sugar/pepper mix. Pop back in the oven for 5 more minutes, or if you are like me-this might be the last thing I make before setting the table for dinner, so I will turn the oven off at this point and bring it out right as we set down to eat.
Before serving, drizzle with the remaining Maple Syrup and stir to combine. Enjoy!
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