RECIPE: Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Molasses

Fresh Brussels Sprouts

Last month I went to one of my favorite restaurants, Cicchetti, and tried their roasted Brussels Sprouts. They were honestly the best Brussels Sprouts I have ever tasted! Like most kids growing up, I hated eating my vegetables. I couldn't stand peas, cabbage, spinach, and especially Brussels Sprouts. As I grew older, I came to appreciate the taste of all the mentioned vegetables. I have tried Brussels Sprouts prepared many different ways, but the Cicchetti Brussels Sprouts were truly delicious. They were crunchy on the outside and covered in just enough molasses to give them great flavor. I tried searching the Internet for a recipe that would come close to Cicchetti's Brussels sprouts, but most didn't seem to hit the mark. This recipe comes the closest, but I'm still going to experiment a bit to try and get the recipe just right.

Ingredients
2 lbs. Brussels Sprouts
1/4 cup olive oil
sale and pepper
2 tbsp molasses

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Bake for 30 minutes.

Cleaned and cut Brussels sprouts

First, clean and cut the Brussels Sprouts. I trim the ends on each sprout and cut them lengthwise down the middle. You can then easily peel off the outer couple of layers of the sprout.

Brussels Sprouts tossed in olive oil

Next, place the cut Brussels Sprouts in a bowl and pour the olive oil over the Brussels Sprouts. Stir the sprouts around to get them evenly coated with the olive oil.

Brussels Sprouts with drizzled molasses

Next, place the Brussels Sprouts on a baking tray covered in aluminum foil. Spread out the sprouts and drizzle them with molasses. Add salt and pepper to your preference. Place the Brussels Sprouts in the preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes. Once done, take out of the oven and serve!

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Molasses

Now after making these, there are a few things I will do different my next time around. Instead of drizzling the molasses over the Brussels Sprouts on the baking tray, I will add the molasses to the olive oil, and toss the Brussels Sprouts in the bowl to coat. I will also try this recipe again and add a couple finely chopped cloves of garlic. To make the Brussels Sprouts a bit more crunchy, next time I'm going to broil them for a very short time after they have roasted for 30 minutes.

There are of course endless possibilities on how to prepare these Brussels Sprouts. What are some of your favorite recipes?

FOOD EVENT: Eat | Drink | Eastlake

Eastlake's 1st Annual Eat | Drink | Eastlake is taking place March 28th at 6pm at the Tyee Yacht Club. Sample food from Eastlake's great restaurants, and wines from regional wineries. The event will also feature a friendly cocktail competition. Be a part of the best Eastlake has to offer!

EAT | DRINK | EASTLAKE
Thursday, March 28th - 6:00 - 9:00pm
Tyee Yacht Club
3229 Fairview Ave. E., Seattle, WA

Info: Facebook | Tickets

Participating Restaurants
Ravish - Facebook | Twitter
Little Water Cantina - Facebook | Twitter
Cicchetti - Facebook | Twitter
Blind Pig Bistro - Facebook | Twitter
Sushi Kappa Tamura - Facebook | Twitter

REVIEW: Cicchetti

My best friend recently moved back to the Eastlake neighborhood. We have both lived in the neighborhood years before and have always loved the area, so I was very happy when he moved back. We decided to walk on over to Cicchetti, Serafina's sister restaurant. It is located directly behind Serafina. Cicchetti is a perfect addition to the Eastlake neighborhood. Cicchetti has great outdoor seating. On this visit, we sat at the bar. The bar is great. All the liquor bottles are shelved up against large windows that face West, so as the sun is setting all the bottles glow in the sunlight.

We arrived just in time for Happy Hour (5pm - 6:30pm). Cicchetti has a great Happy Hour menu with $5 specialty drinks. One of the drinks I tried is called "The Rumbler". It is a refreshing rum based drink.

Next we ordered some small plates. We started with the Truffle oil popcorn for only $1. I love popcorn and I love Truffle oil, so this was a match made in heaven. I could have easily eaten a jumbo-sized bucket of this stuff. We also tried the Kalamata olives with feta. These were also very tasty.

Next we tried the Margherita Pizza, which is only $5 during Happy Hour. The pizza was delicious. It is cooked in their wood fire oven. The crust was perfect!

Lastly, we had our main course of Hanger Steak. The steak was tender and juicy, and served on a light salad. I highly recommend! Overall, I love this place! Right off the bat, our Server was very friendly. Our Bartender was great. He made great drinks and always made sure we were happy with our food and drinks. The rest of the staff at Cicchetti was just as friendly. The place has a very laid-back vibe about it. Cicchetti is a perfect neighborhood restaurant/bar. I can't wait for my next visit to Cicchetti!