reading time: 7 mins.
Hello Sfaggers, its me, -it's Todd Kraines- still me Mike writing at your command!
It was just during 2019 when I first approached the veggie lifestyle and ever since I loved every decision I took in that year -even if sometimes chicken nuggets makes me go crazy- because it made my stomach digest and process the food I took in and made me stronger I guess?!
Obviously at the beginning, growing in an Italian family it was extremely hard with my Nonna Maria every Sunday trying to resist the delicious tomatoes meatballs she made with pasta.. - like be forreal - but that's how I tricked my mind onto it, I could just eat a meatball once in a life time so that I would be satisfied with it.. and that worked ( surprisingly ).
I had to be smarter, I needed to find recipes and cook - that then after a while I discovered to be one of my passions - healthier food than the one that I used to eat, working regularly in a McDonald's 365 days per year, and in order to do that I bought a book I never consulted once in a life span called " Recipes for vegetarian students "... only problem was: I was not a student and not yet vegetarian... fun yeah, right?!
Whatever, my money were wasted and that's fine ( probably not? I swear I'll read it one day ) but anyway I found online a recipe that then became something people knows me for: Brussel Sprouts.
And while many people hate the smell, color, shape and taste ( even my mom and that's why I have never touched them before that year ) I literally fell instantly in love with them and made everyone else's too!
So raise your sleeves and lets try to make you fall in love with them too!!!
Ingredients:
Brussels Sprouts ( 1 box per person or 3 pounds )
Salt
Olive Oil
Parmesan
Black Pepper
Paprika
Lemon
Peanut Butter
and of course an oven...or you can stare at them and hope they get roasted by themselves..
Let's Start:
First thing you gotta do is to wash them out and peel the exterior where you see it may be a little bit rotten - to then not feel that weird taste in your mouth - and cut the bottom of the tiny little root but be careful to not cut it too much or its gonna make the Brussel Sprout fall apart.
It takes time to do this recipe but its worth it and its more the time you have to wait than the one where you are working to make this excellence become reality.
I put them in a bowl or a salad box and then add enough salt to it, not much Olive Oil ( specially now that's expensive as fuck ) and Black Pepper, Sweet paprika, lemon juice and a tea spoon of Peanut Butter.
Obviously you can prefer to not make it spicy and remove the pepper and paprika or make it simpler by just using Olive Oil and Salt, which is how I started and than developed by cooking them for the 46th time this week how to make them more tasteful...
I, then let them marinate for about 30 mins after shaking the hell out of my should and box I put them into, to then use some parchment paper on a baking tray and by facing them with the exterior part upwards I cook them in the oven at 200 degrees or 400 fahrenheit for about 40 mins till they become brown-ish and roasted to the time where they are crunchy but juicy at the right point.
I usually the put a little bit of that - sprinkle, sprinkle - of Parmesan on it and some Parsley to garnish.. but its up to your liking to be fair.. as everything in life there's who like it better with some dipping, more brown, some even like it raw, bigger, longer.. whatever.. you do you!
At The Sfag we hope you'll like this recipe and try it out, but be then sure to let us know!
Dearly, Mike.