Recipe: Roasted Brussels sprouts with pomegranate
Brussels sprouts and pomegranate arils combine for a perfect holiday color combination. Photos by Debbie Arrington
Brussels sprouts and pomegranate – two late fall/early winter favorites – may seem like an unusual pairing, but this odd couple works surprisingly well in this cool-season side dish. And the color combination is perfect for the holidays.
I nicknamed this dish “rubied sprouts.” The pomegranate arils – the juicy seed sacs – look like little gems against the emerald green leaves of roast Brussels sprouts. Added just before serving, the pomegranate arils are warmed by the sprouts but don’t burst.
Pomegranate balsamic vinegar intensifies the sweet-tart flavor. (My vinegar came from Park Winters, www.parkwinters.com.) Other fruity balsamics such as fig would work as well.
Got company coming? This recipe can be doubled or tripled; just use a larger baking dish.
Roasted Brussels sprouts with pomegranate
Makes 3 to 4 servings
Ingredients:
2 cups Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 to 2 tablespoons pomegranate balsamic vinegar or other fruity balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon lemon pepper
¼ teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
¼ cup pomegranate arils (seed sacs)
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In a shallow baking dish, place trimmed and halved Brussels sprouts. Add olive oil and stir to coat. Drizzle pomegranate balsamic vinegar over sprouts and stir gently. Sprinkle sprouts with lemon pepper and Old Bay seasoning; stir again.
Roast in a 350-degree oven until fork tender, stirring once (about 30 to 40 minutes, depending on size of sprouts).
Remove from the oven. Gently stir in pomegranate arils. Serve warm.
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Garden Checklist for week of Nov. 3
November still offers good weather for fall planting:
* If you haven't already, it's time to clean up the remains of summer. Pull faded annuals and vegetables. Prune dead or broken branches from trees.
* Now is the best time to plant most trees and shrubs. This gives them plenty of time for root development before spring growth. They also benefit from fall and winter rains.
* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.
* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.
* Plant garlic and onions.
* Keep planting bulbs to spread out your spring bloom. Some possible suggestions: daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.
* This is also a good time to seed wildflowers and plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.
* Rake and compost leaves, but dispose of any diseased plant material. For example, if peach and nectarine trees showed signs of leaf curl this year, clean up under trees and dispose of those leaves instead of composting.
* Save dry stalks and seedpods from poppies and coneflowers for fall bouquets and holiday decorating.
* For holiday blooms indoors, plant paperwhite narcissus bulbs now. Fill a shallow bowl or dish with 2 inches of rocks or pebbles. Place bulbs in the dish with the root end nestled in the rocks. Add water until it just touches the bottom of the bulbs. Place the dish in a sunny window. Add water as needed.
* Give your azaleas, gardenias and camellias a boost with chelated iron.
* For larger blooms, pinch off some camellia buds.
* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while dormant.
* To help prevent leaf curl, apply a copper fungicide spray to peach and nectarine trees after they lose their leaves this month. Leaf curl, which shows up in the spring, is caused by a fungus that winters as spores on the limbs and around the tree in fallen leaves. Sprays are most effective now.