I LOVE Brussels sprouts. Here's a great way to fix them.

I went to another Philadelphia gluten free potluck this afternoon. As usual, it was a lot of fun -- casual, low-key and there was lots of great gluten free fare. I took oven roasted veggies, and they turned out really well, so I'm sharing the recipe. You can see that I'm not a precision cook. If that makes you nervous and you want more specifics, let me know and I'm sure I can come up with something.

If you think you don't like Brussels sprouts, you really owe it to yourself to try them like this. Get some fresh ones, cut the bottoms off of them, cut them in bite-sized chunks and include them. Really. You won't believe how good they
are. I'm not kidding.

Nutritional yeast may also be unfamiliar. It is savory -- it is a umami seasoning (the 5th taste, along with sweet, sour, salty and bitter.) It's loaded with vitamin B6 and is a complete protein. But never mind that, it makes a great seasoning and can easily be used in place of parmasan cheese. Enjoy!


Oven Roasted veggies

Preheat the oven to 375. Our oven is hinky, so precision isn't necessary. I'd say today's batch hovered somewhere between 350 and 400 degrees.

Cut up the vegetables. Many kinds will work. I have used beets, mushrooms, sweet potatoes and others in addition to today's combination listed here.

Ingredients: Random quantities of the following fresh veggies based on taste and availability, cut in smallish bite-sized chunks:

Brussels sprouts (little leaves of the Brussels sprouts will fall off when you cut them up. Include them in the roasting. They crisp up and are very tasty!)
Cauliflower
Broccoli
Carrots
Potato (I wash them well and leave the skins on)
Red Bell Pepper
Onion

Put the chucks in a big bowl, drizzle them with enough olive oil to lightly coat them and stir it all up. Spread it on a baking sheet one layer deep. Put it in the hot oven for 30 minutes, stirring halfway through. Check toward the end of the time to make sure they aren't getting overdone or burning to the pan. It's okay if the little leaves of loose Brussels sprouts get a little burned, and some of the chunks of vegetables will likely get a browned on one side, and sometimes the little bits on the end of broccoli get toasty. This is all perfectly fine and adds to the taste.

Remove the veggies from the oven. While they are still hot, put them in a bowl, season with freshly ground smoked sea salt (or regular salt is fine, or if you can't do salt, then they are still good anyway -- experiment with seasonings you like) and black pepper to taste.  Then sprinkle with a spoonful or two of nutritional yeast. The yeast flakes sort of melt down and stick to the hot veggies. Start with a little if you've never had it before. Taste it and add more seasonings or yeast as you are so moved. Eat hot or at room temperature and then marvel at how good the Brussels sprouts are. Tell everyone.

The picture of these vegetables was before they were roasted, but I thought it would be helpful to show the size of the pieces. The yeast flakes come in a big canister, and the Trader Joes smoked sea salt comes in a regular sized grinder.  Illustrations not drawn to scale. :-)

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