Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Brussel sprouts always sounded pretty gross to me.  Then, several months ago I tried them - laden with butter, oil & garlic.  They were excellent!  These should be a little healthier - and hopefully still just as tasty!


1 pound Brussels sprouts, rinsed, ends trimmed
1 Tbsp minced garlic (about 3 cloves)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 Tbsp olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place Brussels sprouts in a cast iron frying pan (or a roasting pan, but a cast iron frying pan will work great for this recipe). Toss in the garlic. Sprinkle Brussels sprouts with lemon juice. Toss with oil so that the sprouts are well coated. Sprinkle generously with salt (at least a half teaspoon) and a few turns of black pepper.

Put Brussels sprouts in oven on top rack, cook for 20 minutes, then stir so that the sprouts get coated with the oil in the pan. Cook for another 10 minutes. Then sprinkle with Parmesan (if using) and cook for another 5 minutes.

The sprouts should be nicely browned, some of the outside leaves crunchy, the interior should be cooked through.  

Add more salt to taste. (Salting sufficiently is the key to success with this recipe.)

Nancy's Take:  Well, they taste better with more butter, oil and fatty goodness!  But, these were pretty good.  I really liked them re-heated in the microwave.  I'd definitely make them again.  I did not have cheese, but I'd try sprinkling it on next time.  The girls did not try them - no surprise there...

Dave's Take: Let me first make this full disclosure.  I don't like brussel sprouts.  It would have taken a miracle, a name change, and the removal of the brussel sprout from this recipe to give it a chance.  But with that said, I did choke down about 3 or 4 so I could write this review.  The seasoning did in fact help.  But even more would have been better.  I can't, for the life of me, imagine asking for additional servings of brussel sprouts... ever.