Friday, February 5, 2010

Shells and Cheese...and Sprouts and Nuts


Fun fact: I only began eating Brussels sprouts a few years ago. My mom never made them, so I had never had them. And they're stereotypically one of those foods that people hate, and I'm a picky eater, and, well, let's not get into my food issues today.

This pasta is comforting and super-easy to make. It also re-heats well for the next couple of days (just don't tell your co-workers I gave you the recipe...those little cabbages can be stinky!).

Brussels Sprouts Pasta

12-16 oz. medium shell pasta (or orechiette or something similarly-shaped)
1-1.5 lbs. Brussels sprouts (I think...I didn't actually weigh them), rinsed and sliced in halves
1/2-1C. roughly chopped nuts (I used walnuts and pecans)
1/4 C. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
Kosher or sea salt
Black pepper
2 Tbs. butter
1/4 Parmesan cheese (or more)

Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Toss sprouts on a jelly roll pan with the nuts, oil, and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Roast for about 18 minutes, tossing the sprouts about midway through cooking.

Did You Know? I think raw Brussels sprouts resemble the heads of the aliens in Mars Attacks.





Anyone else see a resemblance? Now that I'm watching these clips, that statement seems less true.

And this is what they look like post-roasting, all caramelized and fabulous.

While the sprouts and nuts are roasting, cook the shells in some generously salted water. Drain the shells when they're just finished, reserving about 3/4 C. of cooking liquid.

Toss the pasta into a big bowl with the roasted sprouts and nuts, adding the butter, Parmesan, and 1/2 C. of the reserved cooking liquid. Add more cooking liquid if the pasta seems too dry.

Those are not my hands/arms moving so quickly they blur. Hubs has mad pasta-mixing skillz.

Quick, tasty, and full of sweet, delicious, cruciferous Brussels sprouts!

Shells and cheese. All growed up!

3 comments:

  1. Yum! I love brussels sprout so I am definitely gonna try this.

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  2. this is actually a brilliant idea. we love roasted brussels sprouts and pasta, just never thought to put them together.

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  3. Thanks! I wish I could take full credit, but it's based off a recipe I found in Real Simple that used broccoli.

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