Brussels sprouts are a very healthy vegetable that can decorate and diversify many dishes. Moreover, it necessarily enters the diet of losing weight, as well as pregnant women and children.
Despite its obvious benefits, not many like the taste of Brussels sprouts. We believe the reason for this is the inability to cook this vegetable properly, to relieve the cabbage from bitterness and in general to cook it properly.
We share the secrets of time and the basic rules of cooking in a pan of Brussels sprouts: how many minutes will the process take for a fresh and frozen vegetable, how to cook it properly.
Do I need to start to defrost?
This question for those who are going to cook Brussels sprouts often arises. The answer is no, if you are going to cook frozen cabbage, it does not need to be thawed before cooking.
Preliminary processing
- It is better to separate the cabbages from the stalk in Brussels sprouts right before use.
- Fresh cabbage should be well washed in a mixture of water and vinegar to wash all the dirt, sand and insects.
- Extreme, yellow leaves and leaves with darkening need to be removed, cut off the spine per millimeter.
- It is desirable to make a cross-cut on it: it will help to boil cabbage more evenly.
Cooking rules
For cooking Brussels sprouts it is better to choose a rather large pan., as in the process of cooking the cabbages slightly increase in size.
- Frozen Brussels sprouts are placed in a saucepan and filled with cold water so that the water covers the cabbage a little, then it is set on a strong fire. Fresh Brussels sprouts are laid in already boiling water.
- Frozen Brussels sprouts boil for 10-12 minutes. How long will it take to boil in fresh water? Countdown in this case begins after boiling water and is 5-7 minutes. It is better to close the pan with a lid, as during cooking, due to the sulfur compounds contained in the Brussels sprouts, a not very pleasant smell may be emitted.
To get rid of bitterness, add a little sugar, a teaspoon of vinegar and a pinch of salt to the water. Another way is to add different spices to the water. At the end of cooking it is recommended to put some lemon juice in the water, this will help get rid of the specific smell.
Reference! It is better to undercook the Brussels sprouts than to digest it, because the overcooked Brussels sprouts will be too soft and may get an unpleasant smell.Moreover, with too long heat treatment both the beneficial properties of the cabbage and its taste qualities deteriorate. Many housewives believe that it is worth as much as possible to keep the cabbage in boiling water, but this is a delusion.
- It is necessary to monitor the cooking time and do not move away from the stove. Readiness of Brussels sprouts is easy to determine: just poke the cooking cabans with a fork. If the fork goes well with the cabbage, the cabbage is soft enough to the touch, which means it is ready and it’s time to turn off the stove. It is advisable to immediately dump the cabbage into a colander, without overdrying it in hot water for the reason already described by us.
If immediately after cooking to put the cabbages of Brussels sprouts in ice water, they will acquire a bright green color. It can decorate the dish, make it look more attractive.
Can I eat, including children?
Of course! Eating boiled Brussels sprouts for food does not bear any harm, moreover, Brussels sprouts are very useful:
- it is rich in sulfur, potassium, vitamins C and B;
- it is high in protein;
- it is also a good source of folic acid.
Pregnant women and children should also eat Brussels sprouts (just because of folic acid). Brussels sprouts are suitable for losing weight. Many nutritionists even advise adding Brussels sprouts to your daily diet!
Proper cooking will keep all these wonderful qualities. And, of course, Brussels sprouts, like all vegetables, boiled is more beneficial than in fried. The other side of the issue - boiled cabbage may not be very tasty. But if you combine it with other products, add spices or just add salt well, you can fix it.
The main thing - do not overdo it, so that it does not happen that attempts to improve the taste of boiled Brussels sprouts made it more harmful than if you just fried it. However, already boiled Brussels sprouts can be fried or baked.
Broth from Brussels sprouts can be a good basis for vegetable soup.
Boiled Vegetable Recipes
Boiled cabbage can be added to salads, it can serve as a side dish for meat. In the end, boiled cabbage can be fried and stewed / baked, and in this form it already appears in a variety of recipes for various stews, soups, salads and casseroles.
Meat that goes well with Brussels sprouts:
- pork;
- beef;
- bird.
Cooked Brussels sprouts can also be served as a separate dish, if you squeeze some garlic on it and pour sour cream on it. And as a bonus, we offer you a recipe for lean Brussels sprout ragout with walnuts.
Ingredients:
- Brussels sprouts - 0.4 kg.
- Onions - 2 pieces.
- Kernels of walnuts, pecans or other nuts: 1/2 cup.
- Cranberries or lingonberries - 0.1 kg.
- Lemon - 1 piece.
- Vegetable oil.
- Pepper.
- Salt.
Cooking:
- Cook the Brussels Sprouts in accordance with the rules described in this article.
- Chop onions and fry in a pan in vegetable oil.
- Brussels sprouts cut in half and add to the onions, also add the cranberries and nuts.
- Simmer another 10 minutes.
- After frying onions, it is recommended to drain the vegetable oil and pour in a new one, since the overcooked oil is extremely harmful.
- After cooking the stew, also drain the butter.
- Serve the stew hot, sprinkling lemon juice on it.
Video recipe for Brussels sprouts with pine nuts:
So, we have written the rules of cooking Brussels sprouts. If you stick to them, cabbage will turn out to be quite pleasant to the taste, and the dishes with it will be not only healthy, but also tasty. It is important to follow all rules and not violate them.so that the result does not become for you an unpleasant surprise. We hope that our article will help you to cook wonderful dishes with Brussels sprouts. We wish you good luck in your culinary endeavors!