Sprouts-n-'Shrooms - A Quick and Easy Side!

Brussel Sprouts.

You either love 'em...or you hate 'em. There is no in between, is there?

I happen to love them.  In fact, I could count them as my favorite veggie that isn't an oriental veggie.  Brussels sprouts look like miniature heads of cabbage. They are quite similar to cabbage in taste, but they are slightly milder in flavor and denser in texture.

Did I mention that they're good for you? They contain significant amounts of vitamin C and vitamin A, and nitrogen compounds called indoles which may reduce the risk of certain cancers.

They are too tough and icky (technical term, you know) to be gnawed raw, but you can steam, blanch, boil, saute and even fry these babies in a huge variety of ways and still not get bored with them.

This quick little side dish method combines them with shallots and mushrooms and goes with just about any entree you want to serve them with.

Start with halving the sprouts, mincing a small shallot and quartering some button mushrooms.

Heat some oil and add the shallot and sprouts.

Saute until you start to see some browned edges on the sprouts.

Add some (blurry) lemon juice.

Then add some Worcestershire sauce.

Cover and cook for about 15 minutes.

Serve piping hot!

Sprouts-n-'Shrooms
 
serves 4

2 cups Brussels sprouts, cut into halves
1 large shal­lot, minced
1 cup button mushrooms, quartered
2 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp extra vir­gin olive oil
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pep­per to taste

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium high heat.  Add shal­lots and brus­sels sprouts. Cook until brus­sels sprouts start to brown.

Add mushrooms, lemon juice and Worcestershire; reduce to low-medium heat and cover. Stir­ring occa­sion­ally, let cook for about 15 min­utes or until brus­sels sprouts are a bit soft and bright green.

Creamy Tomato Roasted Mushrooms

Remember that recipe contest that I mentioned I entered?

I created a total of five recipes and forced Papa Bear, Drama Queen, Little Lawyer, and our fantastic friends Steven, Kristina and Vinka to taste test them and rate them so I could decide which one out of the five was the one I should submit.  I ended up submitting Butternut Soup Muffins. These Shrimp Chowder Quesadillas were a close second...

This recipe was rated number three out of five. These were so good...good enough to be eaten as a side dish or add some pasta or rice and be made into a full meal.

Which I believe I shall do in the very near future...

Halve or quarter some button and cremini mushrooms.

Toss them with some capers, garlic, olive  oil, salt, pepper and WP's Creamy Tomato soup.

Drop pats of butter randomly on top of mushrooms in a roasting pan.

Roast for about 20 minutes. Add some freshly squeezed lemon juice and parsley.

Serve 'as-is' with a good crusty loaf of bread, or over with pasta or rice.

Creamy Tomato Roasted Mushrooms

1 pound mushrooms such as cremini or white, halved lengthwise if large
1/2 can Wolfgang Puck Creamy Tomato soup
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed and chopped
3 large garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Preheat oven to 450°F with rack in middle.

Toss mushrooms with soup, capers, garlic, oil, 1/8 teaspoon salt and several grinds of pepper in a 1 1/2- to 2-qt shallow baking dish. Top with butter and roast, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are tender and golden, 15 to 20 minutes.

Stir in lemon juice and parsley. Serve immediately, with crusty bread on the side for swiping up the sauce.