Brussels Party!

We enjoy stopping by Golonka Farm throughout the summer growing season, and we always pay a visit on their last day, Halloween. The Golonka family operates a farm stand in Hatfield that is popular with locals, but also attracts customers from as far away as Connecticut and New York. I kid you not! We love this local family and we love their great prices. A few weeks earlier, the season for their famous, line-forming Silver Queen and Butter & Sugar corn wound down to a close, but there was plenty of other produce options to choose from. I went for the red and white potatoes, cucumbers, some butter lettuce and grabbed a big stalk of brussels sprouts. 

By the way, if you live in other areas of Western MA, you can learn where the closest brussels sprouts are near you by going to CISA's website and searching brussels sprouts. It's kind of like a personal brussels sprouts GPS. 

This stalk of brussels sprouts was hugely impressive, as you can see. 

                                                    Do you really expect me to eat this?  

Not only are they awesome and beautiful and delicious, they have great nutritive properties. They are a go to vegetable for Vitamin A, C & K as well as beta carotene, folic acid, iron, magnesium and fiber. They are also associated with reducing certain cancers and increasing male virility. 

As you might expect, brussels sprouts get their name from their popularity as a dish in Brussels. They may have also hailed from there, but their forebears were likely cultivated in Iran or Afghanistan. 

Brussel sprouts are often maligned because if you don't use the right cooking methods, they have a strong and unpleasant taste. Don't overcook them and they impart heavenly flavors when roasted. So, we roasted up the stalk of sprouts and intermingled them with some complementary flavors to create a side dish that will keep them asking for more brussels, please! 

Here are the roasted brussels. 

Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Potatoes with Pancetta and Pinenuts

6 Tbsp Olive Oil

2 Medium Red Potatoes, cut into about 1 1/2 to 2 inch chunks

2 Medium White Potatoes

Stalk of Brussels Sprouts, sprouts removed, trimmed and larger sprouts cut into 1/2 

4 oz Pancetta

2 Tbsp Pine Nuts

2 oz Parmesan Cheese, Cut into Shards

Fig Balsamic Dressing

Rosemary

Salt

Pepper

Preheat oven to 425. Add potatoes to a roasting pan and coat with about 3 Tbsp. olive oil. Roast 10 minutes, remove from oven, toss potatoes and return to oven to roast for an additional 10 minutes. Add brussels sprouts, rosemary, salt and pepper to taste and roast for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, toss the vegetables and roast an additional 5 minutes if needed.

 As you are roasting the vegetables, fry the pancetta in a pan with a small amount of olive oil. After the pancetta is beginning to crisp, add pinenuts and cook for a few minutes more. 

Remove brussels sprouts from oven and spoon onto a serving platter. Smother with the pancetta and pine nuts. Scatter parmesan cheese onto sprouts and drizzle with fig balsamic dressing. You can also garnish with lemon wedges and parsley if you like. 

Enjoy! 

Tip: I used Lucini Savory Fig Balsamico, which we purchased from our local co-op. You can find Lucini products in many grocery stores.