Lemon Infused Buttered Brussels Sprouts W/ Crisp Peppered Bacon

French Tart's Note:

A wonderful way to cook and serve Brussels sprouts, the much-maligned vegetable of the Christmas table! Just steam or boil them until slightly tender and then toss them in lemon infused butter and top with peppered crispy bacon - that should cure most "sprout haters"!!! The lemon cuts through the butter and bacon to give a clean and fresh flavour, which is great if these are being served with lots of rich food. Get ahead by juicing and zesting your lemon; you can also pre-cook your sprouts and then plunge them into boiling water for a minute or two before serving. The lemon butter can be heated up gently in the microwave.

• Total Time: 25 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• 800 g Brussels sprouts
• 1 1/2 ounces butter or 1 tablespoon olive oil or 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 200 g cubed smoked bacon or 200 g smoked lardons
• 1 lemon, juice and zest of
• black pepper
• salt

Directions:

1. Slice the bottoms off the sprouts and remove the outer layers.
2. Cook the sprouts in a pan of boiling, salted water for 6-8 minutes, until just tender. We like ours with a bit of a bite still - and not overcooked. You can steam the brussels sprouts if you wish.
3. Meanwhile, heat the butter or oil in a pan and cook the bacon until it is crisp. Remove from the pan and leave to cool slightly - add the lemon juice to the pan with the bacon butter/oil.
4. Add some freshly ground black pepper to the bacon and mix well - we like it quite peppery, please adjust the quantities to suit your personal taste.
5. When the sprouts are cooked, drain and place in a serving bowl.
6. Pour over the lemon butter/oil from the pan. Add the crisp bacon, lemon zest and a twist of sea salt. Toss well to infuse all the flavours and serve immediately.
7. NB: You can gently re-heat the lemon butter/oil before pouring over the sprouts, if it has cooled down too much.

Reviews

[Jim C.]

Delicious! I tried this because I wanted to bring a brussels sprouts dish to a friend's for Thanksgiving, and didn't want to commandeer her oven. As I guessed, it's GREAT at room temperature; just add the bacon right before serving.

[Maito]

We love brussels sprouts, and this is a very good way to serve them. And quick too! I realized as we sat down to eat that I actually forgot to make this dish. But since I could whip the sauce (thanks to Whole Foods bacon bits) together in the 3 minutes it took the sprouts to steam in the microwave, voila! I used roasted walnut oil and it went well with these flavors also. Yum!

[Beautiful BC]

The son who hates brussels sprouts LIKED these! Love the mix of lemon with bacon - the only way these veggies will be served in our home from now on. Thank you for sharing!