It’s that time of year! The time to roast chestnuts, brussel sprouts, and apples. This time, I made my roasted brussel sprouts with apples and chestnuts without butter and added a little nut myllk for creaminess, but usually I make this dish with raw butter. After trying both, I prefer butter since it adds a crispy shell to the brussel sprouts. however, without is still pretty tasty. Your choice, but my vote is use the butter. Otherwise, make sure you make this dish on a cookie sheet for maximizing your crispiness efforts.
If you aren’t sure if you like brussel sprouts, give brussel sprouts a try. Despite their reputation, they actually have a pretty mild flavor when roasted. If you are trying to convince your kids to try them, remind them they are mini cabbages made bite-size just for them. And pretty cute too!
My #1 reason to incorporate brussel sprouts regularly, besides all of the nutritional value? Sulforaphane. “Not only does this ITC trigger anti-inflammatory activity in our cardiovascular system — it may also be able to help prevent and even possibly help reverse blood vessel damage.” I looked at a couple of articles, but I really liked this one by Whole Foods for you to read since it uses over 20 references for the article. You have to check it out. Brussel Sprouts are sooooo good for you!
This was my first…errr…second time roasting chestnuts from the shell. I admit, I almost took the easy way out and bought them peeled, but why not, for the holidays? After all, they taste amazing fresh! If you don’t want to go buy special equipment, or have a very time-consuming task, I recommend getting these instead.
But for me, I admit, I pride myself on being able to make things easy that otherwise weren’t. Sometimes…to a fault.
Some of my favorite off topic yes I can moments:
“That won’t fit in the closet.” (referring to a very large hamper that someone gave me and my husband)
Trust me, after some rearranging, it’ll fit.
“This house is a dump.” (Referring to my college house where I roomed with 3 other girls…and one bathroom. But it was a cool turn-of-the-century home!!!)
Not when we’re done with it.
“It costs too much to decorate.”
Then I’ll do it for cheap. Gotta love hand-me-downs, scavenging, and do-it-yourself projects! Someday I’ll show you guys…we have a great balcony for entertaining, even if it is apartment-sized.
You get the idea…but I will say, there are few tasks in the kitchen that are more tedious than peeling european chestnuts. However, if you are like me, and love the taste of fresh chestnuts…
The best way I’ve found to roast european chestnuts, since their shells are extremely hard, is to boil them for 3-5 minutes to soften the shells. Then, take a serrated knife and make points to peel. The most common way is to draw an “x” on them. I suggest doing this “x” on both sides for easier peeling. Then, bake on a baking sheet for about 30 minutes. If they aren’t peeling very easily, try cooking an additional 15 minutes. or buy a chestnutter tool for cracking them open. There really is a tool for everything!’
Prepping suggestions for Thanksgiving? Chop up everything the day before (onion keeps really well if you want to do a couple days ahead) and put in baggies until ready to assemble.
Ingredients
- 2 cups Brussel Sprouts
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp melted butter (dairy or not, I like to use raw butter since its the most unprocessed)
- *If you aren't using butter, use 2 tbsp nut myllk and 1 tbsp avocado oil-it just won't have that same crispy texture
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp coconut sugar
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 onion
- 2 Granny Smith Apples
- 1/2 cup peeled/roasted chestnuts
- 1/2 cup cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F
- Stir ingredients together, set aside.
- On the stove top with an oven safe dish (I use my clay dutch oven), sauté the chopped onion and garlic in olive oil until translucent.
- Add the brussel sprouts to the pot and pour the sauce mixture on top.
- Roast for an hour at 400°F. At thirty minutes, toss with tongs. I left it uncovered so it roasted. If you like softer brussel sprouts, covering it will steam it more than roast/brown.
- Take the brussel sprouts out of the oven and add the apples, chestnuts and cranberries. Stir into the pot.
- Change oven setting to broil, and broil for 5 minutes.
- Stir, and repeat broiling for 3 minutes at a time until all of the liquid is soaked up.
- Enjoy!
Notes
147 Calories 50 Carbs 4 Protein
Happy Thanksgiving!
My brother used to call brussel sprouts junior cabbages–to affirm your point for children liking them. I never did like them until I discovered they could be roasted. Certainly not at all the tasted of boiled or frozen, then boiled brussel sprout. But pairing them with chestnuts, one of my very favorite fall treats, and apples and cranberries is just genius. Thank God I now have a kitchen, so I can go right to work on these.
I will use butter, but for the meat-eaters, do you think a little bit of bacon would spoil the veggie-ness?
Thanks for another winner.
Marjorie Stradinger recently posted…A cup of coffee on the deck
Hiya! Thanks for posting! Bacon would be a great salty/sweet addition to this dish I think. Let me know if you decide to add the bacon to get the drippings in it, and/or if you add it at the end for the crunch. Happy Thanksgiving Marjorie! Can’t wait to read your latest post.
My comment above was BEFORE I made this amazing dish. Did not use bacon, and it does not need bacon. Maybe a few walnut pieces, and less apple. I only used large one, and maybe needed even less.But overall, this brussel sprouts recipe will now become my regular contribution to holiday meals at home and as a guest. It is out of this world delicious.
And, word of warning: the kids will fight over the scraping in the dish the way they would over cake frosting on the beaters. Every last morsel is to die for. I can’t believe no one has ever thought of using the cider vinegar and sugars and roasting them until they are candied and crispy. Oh and by the way, I didn’t have an onion, so I sued leeks. Wonderful.
Marjorie Stradinger recently posted…A cup of coffee on the deck
Thank you so much for leaving another comment! I love your idea of leeks. YUM. I’ll have to try that next time I make it.
Foodscape recently posted…Raw Peppermint Truffle Bark
I’m definitely going to make this for Thanksgiving. A healthy way to celebrate the harvest. Fresh or dried cranberries?
Thanks for the great idea!
Laura Volpe
Hi Laura! Thanks for posting. I used fresh cranberries and added at the end, however, dried would be a great way to add some sweetness to the cranberries. Let me know how it turns out!