Brussels sprouts often get a bad rap. They're the villain of the Christmas table. Poor, over cooked, farty specimens are pushed to the side of plates nationwide. I was the only person who would devour my sprouts round our table. My brothers wouldn't even entertain the thought of having them on their plate, and even my vegetarian mother would sneakily hide hers under leftover mashed potato. People, we need to give sprouts a second chance. Wipe that mushy memory from your minds and instead think of delicious, garlicky sprouts, caramelised in bubbling butter and tossed with blue cheese and chestnuts. Doesn't that sound devine?!
I found this recipe in an amazing cookbook I picked up a few days ago, Pasta Secrets by Laura Santtini. I've poured over the pages of the book so many times since I bought it, there are mountains delightful sounding pasta dishes, as well as tips on how to make your own pasta or how to get the best from the dried variety. I absolutely adore it and would recommend this one to any pasta lovers out there!
Up until I made this pasta, I had no idea that sprouts were named brussels sprouts and not just brussel sprouts. Maybe it's because of the words running in to each other that I've never noticed this glaring gap in my knowledge of the English language. My long suffering other half often complains of this problem. The last letter of his first name is the same as the first letter of his surname resulting in a snakelike hiss whenever you pronounce it in full. I think this is the perfect reason for him to adopt my surname should we ever get married, but I doubt I'll win that fight ;)
Brussels Sprout, Blue Cheese and Chestnut Pasta
Ingredients:
- 60g butter
- 2tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 250g brussels sprouts, halved
- 1/2tsp dried chilli flakes
- 180g pack of cooked chestnuts, halved
- 200g dried pasta
- 150g blue cheese, crumbled
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Cooking Directions:
- Put a large pan of salted water on to boil.
- Heat the butter in a large, heavy bottomed frying pan, add the crushed garlic cloves then place the brussels sprouts in the pan, flat side down, in a single layer. Throw in some salt, pepper and the dried chilli flakes and allow to cook until the sprouts start to caramelise. Add in the chestnuts and sauté with the sprouts for a few minutes until the sprouts are cooked through and not too soft. Remove from the heat.
- When the water is at a rolling boil add in the dried pasta and cook according to the packet instructions.
- Reserve a cup of the pasta water before draining. Tip the pasta into the sprouts and add the crumbled blue cheese. Toss together over a high heat, adding in a little of the pasta water to loosen.
- Serve immediately with plenty of freshly ground black pepper.
