Brussels Sprouts

Loathing Brussels Sprouts is officially passé. 
Whilst we’ll let the under fives off, if we must, (on the grounds that allegedly children are more sensitive to the bitterness in brassicas), everyone else can stop making a fuss and learn to love them, ok? Although we suppose we really should be grateful to stubborn dodgers, because that leaves more for us and, it’s not just that they’re ubiquitous with Christmas, the more the merrier when there are so many ways to enjoy them.
In our eyes over-cooking them is tantamount to poisoning yourself and your guests or otherwise sabotaging your meal. They shouldn’t be crunchy exactly, but should retain their bright greenness and have a bit of a bite about them. Other than steaming and zesting with lemon, try halving and roasting them with garlic then serving as a side salad with chestnuts and clementine segments or pomegranate seeds. Brussel sprout bhajis are guaranteed to disappear in minutes and a gratin will similarly disguise them from those all too ready to claim they will tolerate a savoy or hispi but just can’t abide those mini-cannonball cabbages. They’re also great in stir-fries (we know we suggest that pretty often, but they go so well with soy and ginger as well as traditional roast dinner flavours!).