At Nightingale, Chef David Hawksworth‘s award-winning restaurant in Coal Harbour, BC, beautifully seasonal and ingredient-driven dishes are served in a relaxed style. It comes as no surprise then that Nightingale goes through 40 pounds of Brussels sprouts every single day – and all because of this delightful recipe. When he was growing up, Hawksworth says, “Brussels sprouts were always overcooked and soft and sort of horrifying.” He’s since discovered that “a hard roast is the simple cure.”
Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Pickled Grapes and Pine Nuts
Brussels sprouts are halved and hard-roasted until they caramelize, then tossed with parsley leaves, pickled grapes and toasted pine nuts in this beautiful Roasted Brussels Sprouts recipe.
Ingredients
Pickled Grapes
- 1⁄2 cup white wine vinegar
- 1⁄4 cup water
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1 bay leaf
- pinch peppercorns
- pinch coriander seeds
- pinch salt
- 120 g 3⁄4 cup red grapes, halved
Brussels Sprouts
- 50 g 6 Tbsp pine nuts
- 30 mL 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 6 cups (500-600g) Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
- handful flat-leaf parsley leaves stems removed
Instructions
Pickled Grapes
- Place the vinegar, water, sugar, bay leaf, peppercorns, coriander, and salt in a pot and bring the mixture to a boil. Transfer to a heatproof container and chill in an ice bath immediately. Once cool, strain out the spices and bay leaf. Pour the cold pickling liquid over the grapes. Cover and chill in the fridge to pickle for at least 4 hours.
Brussels Sprouts
- Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F). Place the pine nuts on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and toast until golden brown, 5 to 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- Turn the oven up to 200°C (400°F). When the pine nuts are cool, gently pulse them in a food processor until coarsely chopped.
- Place a large heavy-bottomed, ovenproof skillet, ideally cast iron, over medium to high heat and heat enough olive oil to thinly coat the pan. Place the Brussels sprouts in the pan, in batches if necessary, cut side facing down, and cook until nicely caramelized, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a baking tray lined with parchment paper, cut side up. Roast in the oven until the sprouts are tender all the way through, about 6 minutes. When the sprouts come out of the oven, throw in the parsley leaves and pickled grapes and gently toss to combine.
- Place the sprouts in a serving platter and sprinkle with the toasted pine nuts.
