Roasted Brussels Sprouts With Peanut Vinaigrette

Karen Van Guilder Little grew up in Knoxville, where Thanksgiving always included old-school American brussels sprouts, boiled into submission and doused in butter. “I was the only one who ate them,” she said, “but I was always the weird kid who would eat anything.”

Fast forward to last December, when Ms. Little and her husband, Andrew Little, a chef, opened Josephine in Nashville. Not many states with fewer than seven million people have three major food cities, but Memphis, Nashville and Knoxville are all burgeoning restaurant destinations. And every new place, it seems, has to have killer brussels sprouts. At the Catbird Seat in Nashville, they are dressed with sorghum and ham. At Hog and Hominy in Memphis, they’re slicked with tomato and bacon jams and shocked with mint.

“I knew I couldn’t do bacon, because everybody else had that covered,” Mr. Little said. “I started playing around with peanut butter — it’s rich and salty like bacon — and it just clicked.” The sprouts are never allowed to come off the menu, and grace the Van Guilder/Little Thanksgiving table every year.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds brussels sprouts, trimmed, halved and rinsed in cold water
• ¼ cup peanut oil
• Salt
• 4 teaspoons champagne vinegar
• 2 teaspoons honey or maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened peanut butter, creamy or chunky
• Hot sauce or chile oil (optional)
• 1 large navel orange
• 3 tablespoons dried tart cherries or cranberries, plumped in warm water, drained and coarsely chopped
• Crispy fried shallots, for garnish (optional)
• Chopped fresh mint, for garnish (optional)

• Nutritional Information

  • Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

    151 calories; 9 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 15 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 6 grams sugars; 4 grams protein; 29 milligrams sodium

  Note: Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available data.
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8 to 10 servings

Preparation

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees and place a pan of hot water in the bottom, to help prevent the sprouts from becoming tough. Turn on convection if you have it.
2. Toss sprouts with peanut oil, sprinkle with salt, and spread out on one or two baking sheets. Roast 15 minutes. Stir and continue cooking 10 to 20 minutes more, until browned and crisp. Check sprouts every 5 minutes or so; if they are browning too fast, reduce heat by 25 degrees and turn off convection.
3. Meanwhile, make the dressing: In a bowl, whisk together vinegar and honey. Whisk in peanut butter until thick and creamy. Add water until consistency is like creamy salad dressing. Season to taste with hot sauce, if using.
4. When sprouts are tender and browned, remove from oven, transfer to a large bowl and sprinkle with salt. Add half the dressing and toss well.
5. Take orange and cut a thick slice off the bottom and the top to make flat surfaces. Rest bottom on a cutting board and use a small, sharp knife to carve off all the peel and pith, cutting from top to bottom and following the curve of the fruit. When all the orange flesh is exposed, cut out each segment by slicing along the white membranes. Gently loosen from the orange and set aside.
6. Add half the orange and half the cherries to bowl and toss. Taste. Adjust with more dressing, orange and cherries until flavors are balanced. Serve warm or at room temperature, topped with fried shallots or fresh mint, or both, if using.

50 minutes