Brussels Sprouts & Chestnuts
A different side dish for the holidays. This recipe originally called for canned chestnuts, but I have never found them in our local stores.
A different side dish for the holidays. This recipe originally called for canned chestnuts, but I have never found them in our local stores.
- Carbohydrate 17.124694163334 g
- Cholesterol 10.1677083333333 mg
- Fat 4.33828708333333 g
- Fiber 2.6599999666214 g
- Protein 3.50267791666667 g
- Saturated Fat 2.51983033333333 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (105g)
- Sodium 34.807 mg
- Sugar 14.4646941967126 g
- Trans Fat 0.344864083333334 g
- Calories 114 calories
Step-by-step
- Score, roast and shell the chestnuts. (Or, score and cook in a pan in a bit of water.)
- Cook butter with sugar until golden.
- Add chestnuts to butter-sugar mixture and brown.
- Separately, cook the Brussels sprouts according to package directions. Drain.
- Add chestnuts with butter mixture to sprouts and moisten with a little stock or water in which the sprouts were cooked.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Why do chestnuts turn to paste and Brussels sprouts smell of sulfur when combined incorrectly? The answer lies in managing moisture and heat independently before bringing the components together at the finish. Frozen brassicas retain a high volume of intracellular water, which releases during boiling and can flood the pan if the vegetables are not drained aggressively. Steaming them separately ensures that the cellular walls soften evenly without leaching nutrients into the roasting fat.
Scoring the raw chestnuts before applying heat is non-negotiable; steam expands rapidly inside the shell, and an unpierced nut will fracture or explode. Roasting them until the inner skin peels away easily exposes the starchy nutmeat to the pan. Alternatively, simmering them in a shallow pan of water softens the dense interior through gentle conduction. Judge doneness by piercing the thickest part of the nut with the tip of a paring knife; it should meet zero resistance, mirroring the texture of a baked potato.
Caramelizing butter with sugar requires constant attention because milk solids scorch quickly once the water content evaporates. Cooking the butter and sugar until the mixture turns a pale golden hue creates a sweet lacquer that adheres to the browned chestnuts. Introduce the chestnuts to this bubbling fat only after the sugar has dissolved completely, tossing them frequently for roughly three to four minutes until they develop a shiny exterior crust.
Moistening the final assembly with reserved cooking liquid bridges the gap between the sugary nuts and the earthy greens. Stirring in a tablespoon of the vegetable water emulsifies the residual butter into a light glaze that coats each sprout evenly. Season generously with kosher salt to balance the natural sweetness of the chestnuts and the concentrated sugar glaze, tasting a single sprout before serving to verify the seasoning penetrates the core.
