Brussels sprouts: recipes

Brussels sprouts are a small, elegant vegetable. It belongs to the family of cruciferous plants and resembles a head of ordinary cabbage in miniature. The size of a vegetable is no more than a walnut. It tastes good. The calorie content of Brussels sprouts is small, so you can eat it without fear of weight gain. From this vegetable you can cook many varied and hearty dishes. Cabbage can be added to salads and soups. You can also make a delicious and nutritious side dish from it.

Vegetable benefits

Brussels sprouts are rich in B vitamins. These substances are responsible for the state of the nervous system. It contains indole, this compound reduces the risk of tumors. Vegetables are good for people of advanced age, as it slows down the aging of the body and prevents dementia.

The vegetable contains fiber, which helps to improve digestion. Regular inclusion of this product in the diet helps fight constipation. The calorie content of Brussels sprouts is very small - only 42 Kcal per 100 g. Therefore, people on a diet can safely use this product.

However, this healthy vegetable should not be abused. In some cases, cabbage is contraindicated. It is undesirable to use it for diseases of the thyroid gland, as this product interferes with the absorption of iodine.

How to remove bitterness from a vegetable

Sometimes, due to violation of the rules of cultivation or storage, Brussels sprouts acquire a bitter taste. To eliminate the bitterness, you need to remove the yellowed leaves from the vegetable. Next, you need to hold the cabbage heads for about 10 minutes in cold salted water. Then throw the vegetable at the same time in boiling water with salt and put on the stove for 10 minutes.

If cabbage needs to be prepared for frying, then it is also cleaned of yellow leaves. In the composition for frying, you need to add olive oil and lemon juice, this will reduce bitterness.

Salads usually use fresh Brussels sprouts. In this form, the vegetable is especially useful. It does not need to be heat treated. To eliminate the bitter aftertaste in such cases, you can use seasonings. Salt and sugar will enhance the taste of Brussels sprouts. Lemon juice and vinegar will also soften bitterness.

The rules of heat treatment of vegetables

There is another important feature of the preparation of this product. This type of cabbage can not be cooked, fried or stewed for more than 10-12 minutes. If the heat treatment is too long, it loses its taste. Therefore, if the first dish or stew of several vegetables is being prepared, then the cabbage is put last.

Thin cabbage leaves are boiled and fried faster than a stalk. Therefore, before heat treatment, heads of cabbage need to be cut in half.

Fry

How to cook fried brussels sprouts? First you need to boil it. This will not only eliminate the possible bitter aftertaste, but also reduce the cooking time. So, 300 g of washed and processed head of cabbage are thrown into a pan with a little salted boiling water. Cooking time is approximately 10 minutes. Then the water is drained, and small heads of cabbage are thrown into a colander. After that, they should be allowed to cool a little. Next, you must observe the following order of cooking:

1. We need to take breadcrumbs. In this mass, we carefully run every head of cabbage. It is necessary that the cabbage be uniformly covered with cracked mass on all sides. Fans of spicy dishes can add a little ground pepper to the breading.
2. Sunflower oil is poured into the pan. Toaster fry. It is important to turn them over on time. At the same time, it is necessary to prevent the burning of vegetables. Heads of cabbage should turn rosy.
3. Next, the side dish can be sprinkled with dill or parsley in crushed form.

Fried Brussels sprouts are an excellent side dish for those who want to lose weight or for lovers of vegetarian cuisine. Such food is hearty. She will not allow to gain excess weight, but at the same time the person will not feel hungry.

Stew

Stewed Brussels sprouts can be cooked in sour cream. Vegetable goes well to taste with dairy products. It will take about 700-800 g of cabbage heads and 3 tablespoons of low-fat sour cream. As seasoning, you can use nutmeg.

The recipe for this dish is very simple:

1. Heads are thrown in salted boiling water and boiled for about 5 minutes.
2. Water is drained, and cabbage is left in a saucepan.
3. Add sour cream. Reduce the fire to a minimum. Stew cabbage for about 7 minutes.

Knead the prepared cabbage with a fork, after which nutmeg is added.

Cabbage recipe in batter

Brussels sprouts in batter - a hearty and tasty dish. For its preparation you will need a pound of cabbage, 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil, 1 egg and 100 g of flour.

1. Cabbage is thrown in salted boiling water and boiled for 7 minutes.
2. Then make a batter. For this, the egg and salt are combined with flour. This composition is whipped. You should get a thick homogeneous mass.
3. Each head of cabbage is immersed in batter so that the mass covers it on all sides. Then the cat is fried in oil until golden brown.

If it is necessary that the Brussels sprouts fried in batter get a sharp flavor, you can add your favorite spices to the mixture of eggs and flour in advance.

Vegetable salad

From this type of cabbage you can make a delicious salad. It contains a large amount of vitamins. For many housewives, the question arises: "How to cook Brussels sprouts in raw form so that it does not get bitter?" This dish uses salt and mayonnaise. Such seasonings significantly reduce the bitter taste of cabbage, it becomes almost invisible. Raw vegetables will only bring benefits, since all vitamins and minerals are stored in them.

You need to take about 200 g of cabbage, add to them 1 head of onion and a small beet weighing about 50 g. Dill, parsley and onion are taken to taste. If desired, you can use walnuts. For dressing you will need a little mayonnaise (about half a bag of 100 g).

1. Cabbage most often goes on sale in frozen form. Therefore, before cooking, head of cabbage should be put in a warm place. They must be completely thawed and then dried well. No liquid should get into the salad.
2. After defrosting and drying, the heads of cabbage are finely cut.
3. Next you need to chop all the necessary herbs and onions. Chop kernels (if used).
4. The components of the salad are mixed.
5. It remains only to salt the dish, put the mayonnaise and mix.
6. We will need raw beets for decoration. It can be cut in the form of stars or make roses.

The healthy Brussels sprouts dish is ready! It can be eaten along with vegetables, meat and sausages. Those who are on a diet can use non-fat types of sour cream or yogurt instead of mayonnaise. But in this case, you need to sprinkle the heads of cabbage first with lemon juice.

Cabbage and Bacon Salad Recipe

Brussels sprouts can be cooked and more nutritious and high-calorie salad. We will need a pound of frozen head of cabbage. Also in the salad you need to add 100 g of bacon, 15 g of hazelnuts and 1 piece of shallots. It will take 1 tablespoon of honey, red wine vinegar, olive and sunflower oil to improve the taste.

1. First you need to carefully defrost the heads of cabbage on a hot steam. Drain and dry the cabbage.
2. Then the cabbage heads are cut in half and fried to a soft consistency.
3. Bacon is cut into small squares and also fried.
4. Finely chop the hazelnuts.
5. Make a mixture of nuts, honey, vinegar and olive oil.
6. Chop the shallots and add to the honey-nut dressing.
7. Combine fried bacon and cabbage with dressing. Salt and mix again.

Learns an unusual salad with a sweet touch.

First course recipe

Brussels sprouts are often used as part of frozen soups. The first dishes with this vegetable are not as useful as salads, but vitamins and minerals are stored in broth.

You can make diet soup with chicken stock. The recipe for its preparation is as follows:

1. First, prepare chicken stock from 500 g of poultry breast. In this case, the meat does not need to be processed for too long, just boil it for 10 minutes after boiling water. It should turn out about 2-3 liters of broth.
2. Then vegetables are prepared: 4 potatoes and 2 small carrots are cut into cubes. They are put in the broth. Reduce heat and boil chicken with vegetables for another 10 minutes.
3. Then the chicken should be removed. He is allowed to cool, and then cut into pieces.
4. Heads of cabbage are cut in half and put in soup.
5. Spices are added to the broth: salt, bay leaf and cloves of garlic. Their amount is taken according to your taste. All boil for another 10 minutes. Add chopped chicken.

The dish is ready. To make its taste more saturated, the soup should be insisted for about 10 - 15 minutes. When it is served, you can put a spoonful of sour cream in each plate.

Gratin recipe

Brussels sprouts can be deliciously baked. This dish is suitable for lovers of vegetarian cuisine.

The recipe for this dish is simple:

1. You need to take 600 g of cabbage and 3 tablespoons of butter and flour. A sauce also requires a glass of milk and a small piece of cheese weighing about 150 g.
2. Cheese must first be grated on a medium grater.
3. Before baking, the cabbage is boiled for about 5 minutes in water with a small amount of salt. Then they need to be cooled. While the cabbage is boiling, you need to preheat the oven to a standard temperature (200 degrees). The boiled vegetable is placed in a colander, the water is drained and cooled.
4. Then prepare the sauce. Melt butter in a pan and put flour. This composition is heated over moderate heat. In this case, do not forget to stir it with a spoon. When a homogeneous mass is obtained, milk is poured. The sauce is heated for another 3-4 minutes, constantly whipping. When the composition is completely ready, put the salt.
5. Next, you need to take a baking dish and put boiled cabbage on its bottom. They need to pour the cooked sauce. Sprinkle grated cheese on top of the dish and put in the oven for 15 minutes.

It turns out a satisfying dish. Its calorie content is about 250 Kcal. Gratin can be prepared for every day, and can be served in solemn occasions as an independent hot dish.