“Here we’re sear ’n’ steaming Brussels sprouts like gyoza,” says Alice Zaslavsky. “Then combining with the kinds of flavours you’d expect to find at a Hofbräuhaus (indeed, I distinctly remember eating brassica and bratwurst on an enormous plate in Munich, where they’ve been pairing beer and sausages by royal decree since the 16th century), served with an indecent blot of hot mustard and soothing sour cream.
“To make this vego, pull out the meat and add a tin of rinsed lentils, some fennel seeds and smoked sweet paprika to taste. You can use a mandoline to finely slice the fennel and onion, using a guard to avoid nipping fingertips. If you’re in a hurry, you can sear the sprouts in a separate pan.
“To save time on the sausage de-robing, slice the snags through the skins lengthways. I prefer squeezing out the mix, but I’m a sicko.”
Ingredients
Serves → 4–6
Chop + stir → 15 Minutes
Set + forget → 30 Minutes
- 1/3 cup (80 ml) olive oil
- 600 g (1 lb 5 oz) Brussels sprouts, trimmed and quartered (or halved if smaller), outer leaves reserved
- 50 g (13/4 oz) butter
- 1 brown onion, finely sliced with the grain
- 1 small fennel bulb, trimmed and finely sliced with the grain
- 1 tangy apple, peeled and grated
- 1–2 garlic cloves, finely diced
- 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) pork and fennel sausages
Home stretch
- 1/3 cup (85 g) sour cream
- hot English mustard
- fennel fronds (reserved from above)
Method
Sprout for my love → Pour 3 tablespoons of the olive oil into a high-sided pan. Arrange the Brussels sprouts, cut side down, in the pan. Turn the heat to medium–high, put the lid on and set the timer for 5 minutes, leaving them to sit until they are quite well coloured; if quartered, flip them to the other side halfway through. Flip the sprouts onto their tuchuses. Add the butter and 1/4 cup (60 ml) water and stir about until the butter melts. Place a lid on to capture the steam and shake about for 1 minute. Scoop those verdant, glossy, buttery, toasty sprouts into a bowl and set aside.
Sweat sesh → Add the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil to the schmutzy pan. Tumble in the onion and fennel slices and put the lid on. Sweat over medium heat for 8 minutes, or until translucent and slightly golden on the edges, stirring occasionally. When the timer goes off, toss in the grated apple and garlic and stir about for another 2 minutes, until fragrant and softened. Sausage sizzle → Pop the sausage meat out of the casings, straight into the pan. Crank the heat up high to help render out the fat, breaking the meat up to a ballsy or bolognese-y consistency with a wooden spoon and encouraging some deeply browned and flavoursome bits below. Sizzling is good! Fry for 8–10 minutes, stirring occasionally and giving the pan the odd shake until the meat cooks through – from pink to opaque.
All together now → Return the sprouts to the pan, along with any of the buttery juices in the bowl and the outer leaves of the Brussels sprouts and toss to introduce the ingredients to each other. Keep the pan sizzling for the sprouts to absorb the flavours, then switch off and taste for seasoning, adding salt flakes and freshly cracked black pepper as needed.
Bring it home → Serve with dollops of sour cream and dabs of hot English mustard, finished with fennel fronds, salt flakes and a final crack of black pepper.
Double duty → Leftovers keep very well – just leave off the mustard and sour cream, so you can reheat in a pan or zap in the microwave. This is also the kind of thing I would LOVE to whack a poached egg on, for a bit of a Bavarian breakfast hash.
Images and text from Weeknights with Alice by Alice Zaslavsky, photography by Rochelle Eagle. Murdoch Books RRP $45.00. Weeknights with Alice is out now and available at excellent independent Victorian bookstores such as Readings and Hill of Content.