Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Cabbage and Pine Nuts

Food and Wine strikes again.  Actually, no, they pretty much hit a home run with this one.  Isn't the English language funny?  Strike out means something totally different than strikes.  At any rate, I was reading the magazine in the car on the way to work (yes, I ride in with my hubby if I have no out-of-the office appointments) and saw this recipe.  At that point I was the owner of a mongo bag of brussels sprouts from Sams.  Now, I'm the owner of HALF of a mongo bag.  I may make this again to use up the bag.  This was that good!

The recipe says to serve immediately so I rushed to make sure the pasta and the veggies came out at the same time.  Not to worry.  This is VERY forgiving.  We ate it warm the first time and cold for lunch the next day.  I almost liked it cold better because the flavors had had an opportunity to blend and the cranberries had plumped right up.  The ingredient list and directions look a bit intimidating.  It's not as tough as it looks like it might be to put together.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Cabbage and Pine Nuts

Ingredients:

1 lb brussels sprouts
1/2 c pine nuts
6 T extra virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground pepper
3 T fresh lemon juice
2 T honey
2 t Dijon mustard
1/8 t cayenne pepper
1/2 t ancho chili powder
1 1/2 lbs cabbage - red or green
1/2 c dried cranberries
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 oz Parmesan or Romano cheese, thinly shaved

Directions:

Trim the ends off the brussels sprouts then quarter them.  Toss them with about a tablespoon of olive oil. 

Roast them at 450 for about 15 minutes.  They'll turn a lovely golden brown as they caramelize. 

You can either set these aside and heat them back up with the garlic or prepare the rest of the recipe poste haste and not have to reheat these.

Either roast the pine nuts in the oven for about 3 minutes or toast them in a small skillet on the stovetop.  Be careful because they burn quickly!

Now, it's time to make the dressing.  Whisk together the lemon juice, honey, mustard, cayenne and ancho chili powder.  Then, whisk in 1/4 c of the olive oil.  Set the dressing aside for the flavors to blend. 

Toss the cabbage, cranberries and pine nuts together in a large bowl.

 

Heat the remaining olive oil in a medium sized skillet if you're reheating the brussels sprouts, a small one if you're not.  Slice the garlic very thinly. 

Saute it until it's golden brown.  If you're reheating the brussels sprouts, add them just before the garlic is done.  Stir constantly so the garlic doesn't burn.

Time to put it all together.  Add the garlic and olive oil plus the brussels sprouts and the dressing to the cabbage mixture.  Toss it well and serve.