Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's brussels sprouts recipes | British food and drink (2024)

I know that for many people unhappy memories of sprouts pastlinger like a kind of Proustian anti-madeleine. But I'm convinced the effects can be reversed. Boiled tooblivion, they are indeed depressing. But cooked correctly, brussels sprouts are sweetly, toothsomely tender and delicious.

Honestly, I really do look forward to my first, frost-sweetened sproutsof the year. (Though, if I'm completely honest, perhaps not quite so much as I look forward to the first broad beans, though that may just be because they often come with a side order of sunshine.)I treat sprouts tenderly, boiling or steaming them until they're cooked but still retain a littlebite – about sixminutes shoulddo itfor small, walnut-sizedsprouts, which are theones we're hankering after hereanyway. The other benefit of choosing small sprouts – apart from their superior flavour – is that you don't have to bother with that fiddly nonsense ofcutting crosses in theirbases to ensure that they cookevenly.

If you love sprouts as I do, you may even fancy trying to grow yourown next year. Yes, they take up abit of space in the veg plot, butapart from that they're really not a very demanding crop. The advantage of growing your own is that by carefully choosing your varieties, you can spread the sproutlove from autumn until early spring. At River Cottage, we grow Noisette and Groninger to enjoy in Novemberand early December; Seven Hills to tuck into over Christmas; and Wellington and the beautiful, amethyst Winter Rubine to enjoy during the last, frosty glimmers of winter.

The other advantage of growing your own is that you get to enjoy thesprout tops, too – that is, the sheltering crown of foliage at the topof the plant. Sprout tops make pretty good cut-and-come-again greens provided you take just a few at a time during the growing season. Their taste is something between cabbage and brussels sprouts, andthey're very tasty shredded andeither tossed in butter or addedto stews, rather as you wouldwith the posher, more glamorous cavalo nero.

If, on the other hand, you're buying your brussels, look for small,tight, bright green sprouts with no hint of yellow about them. I'm a big fan of sprouts sold on the stem – an innovation started in farmers' markets and now adopted by greengrocers and even some supermarkets. This practice helps keep them fresh, because the sprouts continue to "live" off the nutrients in the stem.

However you buy them, though, your sprouts should smell sweet andappealing, not pungently cabbage-y – that means they've beenhanging about a bit too long. Cook them as soon as you can, and as swiftly as you can, to enjoy them at their tender and enchanting best.

Brussels sprout salad

Raw brussels sprouts have such terrific flavour and crunch, it's surprising that we don't enjoy them raw more often. Chose the freshest, smallest sprouts you can for this tasty winter salad. These quantities serve one to two.

Heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Scatter the hazelnuts on a baking sheet and roast in the oven until fragrant and browned – about nine to 11 minutes. Remove from the oven, wrap in a clean tea towel and leave for a minute. Rub vigorously in the tea towel – this will remove the browned skins.

Cut the prepared brussels sprouts from top to root into slices about thethickness of a 50p piece. Put these into a bowl and toss with the lemon zest and juice, thyme leaves, chilli flakes, and a tablespoon of oil, and season with salt and pepper. Taste and add more olive oil, lemon juice and/or chilli flakes as desired.

Arrange on a plate, scatter the hazelnuts over and around and crumble on the goat's cheese. Trickle over a little more olive oil and serve immediately.

Roasted brussels sprouts with shallots and caraway seeds

This makes a delicious and easy sidedish – the earthiness of the brussels sprouts combines wonderfully with the sweetness ofthe shallots. If you like, add a handful or two of peeled, cooked chestnuts to the mix, too. Serves four.

Heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Tip the sprouts into a bowl along with the shallots, olive oil and caraway seeds, and season generously with salt and pepper. Tipthe lot into a roasting tin and roast for about 40 minutes, until thesprouts are crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. Shake thepan from time to time, so that everything cooks evenly. Season the cooked sprouts with a little more salt and serve immediately.

Creamed brussels sprouts with bacon

One of my favourite converter dishes, designed to turn many a sprout hater into a sprout lover. Serve it as an accompaniment to roasts or as a supper dish on its own.Serves six as a side dish, or two as amain course.

Bring a large pot of well-salted waterto a boil, and cook the sprouts in it until just tender– this should take no more than about six to eight minutes. Drain, then tip into the bowl of a food processor along with the butter and cream. Pulse until you have a rough, creamy purée.

Fry the bacon in the oil until crisp. Scrape the creamed sprouts into a saucepan with a spatula, stir in the chestnut pieces and gently heat through. Spoon into a warmed dish, sprinkle over the crispy bacon bits and serve at once.