Everybody love Brussels Sprouts, right? Their delicious bitterness, their fibrous, crunchy, sometimes squeaky bites, their pungent smell. They look like miniature cabbages, so cute!!

Full of vitamins, minerals, sometimes sand, and very often bugs, Brussels Sprouts are just too perfect.

How can one not love them?! Seriously! 😂

Well ok, the ‘recipe’ is just here below, but you might want to read what’s after that. You might even have a laugh!

Caramelized Brussels Sprounds Recipe from a #NotaFoodBlogger!

It’s really easy too cook Brussels Sprouts and here is my delicious simple and vegan recipe:

Ingredients:

• Brussels Sprouts
• Onions & garlic
• A dash of agave sirup or apple cider vinegar
• Tofu
• Olive oil, salt & pepper, etc

Oh wait, I think I added raisins in there! Why not!

Brussels sprouts should be blanched!

All cabbages should be blanched, shouldn’t they? Well I don’t know, it’s a non negotiable step in French cooking. Something we’ve been taught to do.

Blanching, for 5 minutes or so, is not cooking, it’s just a requirement. If you then want to boil your Brussels sprouts, you need to do it afterward, in ‘clean’ water. Just don’t over do it, because… the smell! (more on that below!)

Then to the pan!

Once blanched (and boiled or not), you can toss your sprouts in the heated pan (once the oil is ready of course) with the onions and garlic and let it cook.

If they haven’t been boiled, you may want to add a bit of water and cover for a couple minutes. If they have been boiled, you can skip.

Once the sprouts are a little golden, you can add the tofu and raisins or else.

Add your salt and pepper and whatever herbs you fancy, toward the end. I use a provencal herbs mix, because it’s a very common thing in France. You can certainly add fresh herbs, if you have them.

If needed/wanted, add a dash of agave syrup or maple syrup toward the end as well. It does add something! Extra crispiness included!

You can also replace the syrup by a dash of apple cider vinegar. Yes, yes and yes again! Amazingly delicious combination. Plus vinegar makes everything easier to digest so bonus point!

And voila! Almost…

When they were done, I forgot to take another picture! They were of course grilled in some areas. But we were famished, so they went straight to our plates!

#NotaFoodBlogger 😉

What really happened!

My boyfriend came back from the grocery store, with Brussels sprouts… and I was surprised! I buy them every now and then, but he always said he doesn’t like them. So I asked: “why did you buy these?” And I was then even more surprised, by the answer: “I like them, the way you cook them!“

OMG!!!

Seriously!

He is a grown man, but he sometimes / often behave like a child! Including, or maybe especially, with food. So, I was absolutely amazed.

So I waited a few days, because I wasn’t sure he really ment it and wanted to give him a chance, to forget he had put such a burden on himself.

Of course, the longer one waits to prepare Brussels sprouts, the more of the outer tiny leaves one will have to remove. It wasn’t too bad so I was able to quickly put them in the boiling water. I went back to the sofa to finish some work.

I had closed the kitchen door and more than the 5 minutes required to blanched, had passed (because time just fly by when you have so much fun at work!) when my boyfriend went into the kitchen.

Oh dear! 😱

There he was, quickly making his way back to the living room, and then standing by the door, which he had not entirely closed:

“It smells rather bad in the kitchen” he said with a very hesitant face, but with his very British accent.

I think on one side he hesitated to comment on the fact that I was cooking something he had suddenly been reminded, in a despiteful way, he was responsible for bringing back into our home.

Then, he was probably afraid to make any further comment, considering I had been cooking lunches and diners, while he was working from home. He perfectly knew that it was in his best interest, to not show anything but immense gratitude, for such devotion to his wellbeing… or the cooking might stop!

Finally, part of him, every now and then, recognizes his childish behavior and he tries his very best, to act like and adult. By refraining from making disgusted faces and running away from the kitchen, he was indeed trying his best!

OK, admittedly, these points are what went through my head, while the pungent smell of the sprouts was reaching my nose. He most likely didn’t have so many thoughts at once. 😉

Anyway, at that point I knew I had to act quickly!

I jumped off the sofa, drained the sprouts, opened the window wide and large. Heat up the oil in the pan.

Quick, quick, I need garlic!

And there, in less than 5 minutes, the situation was saved!

The smell of the Brussels sprouts had been cleared and was soon replaced by the lovely smell of garlic and onion gently cooking in the pan! Pffff.

It’s truly amazing how garlic can save the day, not just the ones where you are faced with vampires!

Indeed the Brussels Sprouts were then added, and the rest as well.

Lunch was even enjoyable! He ate everything and even confirmed it was really nice!

Hooray!

And here is my last advise to enjoy your Brussels sprouts: only cook them on sunny days! Days where you can open your windows, to get rid of their smell and then open them again, to get rid of the garlic smell!

Not the most useful recipe I’ll admit, but if you want to pin it, don’t hesitate!!