Brussel Sprouts to the Rescue

For my debut recipe I wanted to make some brussel sprouts because... well, you get the idea. Anyways, I decided on prosciutto braised brussel sprouts. For the main course, prosciutto wrapped halibut with a lemon caper butter sauce. A fun little date night recipe that's fairly easy to whip up.

As I opened up the halibut to start cookin', a woft of nasty fish-smell filled the kitchen. Awesome. Regardless, I carried on, wrapped the little guy up in some nice fatty prosciutto and stuck it in the oven to cook while I made the rest of the meal. I whipped up the brussel sprouts and lemon caper butter sauce (recipes below) and pulled out the fish. Still smelled gross so I didn't touch it.

I believe Brian's (my personal food critic) first comment after taking a bite was, "This sauce could make anything taste good." Not only was the sauce delicious, but I may have created the best brussel sprout recipe ever.... for now. So in conclusion my friends, brussel sprouts saved the day.

Lesson 1: Prosciutto does not cover up fishyness. FAIL!
Lesson 2: My lemon caper butter sauce is thebomb.com. (try the recipe)

Prosciutto Wrapped Halibut

Not even going to share the recipe until I get a nice piece of fish. But basically you wrap up the fish in nice and fatty prosciutto, put it in a little foil packet and bake it.



Looked so promising...



Lemon Caper Butter Sauce

1 shallot (finely chopped)

2 cloves garlic (minced)

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 Tbsp. capers plus some brine

1 cup good Dry White Wine (sweet or bad wine ruins the whole thing)

1/2 lemon juiced plus some zest of the lemon

Salt and Pepper

Heat butter and oil over medium heat in a saute pan until butter bubbles a little bit. Add shallot, salt and pepper and cook for 3-5 minutes or until soft. Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes to release the oils but not burn. Add capers, white wine, lemon juice and zest and bring to a slow simmer. Let thicken for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour over anything from an orzo pasta to a nice piece of fish.

Prosciutto Braised Brussel Sprouts

3 oz. prosciutto (cut into small pieces)

3 cloves garlic (minced)

1 shallot (finely chopped)

1lb brussel sprouts

1 Tsp. crushed red pepper

1 cup panko bread crumbs

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan Cheese

Salt and Pepper

1 cup organic vegetable or chicken broth

4 sprigs Thyme (leaves only)

Rosemary (fine chop of leaves only)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. First, prep the brussel sprouts by cutting off botttom and cutting in half. You must cut in half or its just not the same! My mom always says it lets out a nutty flavor :)

Use the largest saute pan you have for this dish because you lots of room for the sprouts. Heat the pan over medium high heat and add prosciutto. Cook for 5 minutes, until the fat starts to run in the pan. Depending on how much fat the prosciutto renders, you might want to add some olive oil to the pan. Add the 2/3 garlic, 2 sprigs of thyme leaves and brussel sprouts. It's okay if the some of the leaves fall off, leave them. Cook for 10 minutes, or until the sprouts are browned and carmelized. Make sure there's enough fat on the bottom of the pan for all the sprouts to cook in. Add salt, pepper and crushed red peppers. Add stock and bring up to a simmer (light boil) and let cook for 10 minutes covered.

 Transfer brussel sprouts to baking dish. In a bowl, combine panko bread crumbs, grated Parmesan, rosemary and thyme, remaining garlic, olive oil and salt and pepper. Sprinkle mix over brussel sprouts and pop in oven for 10-15 minutes. Enjoy :)