Brussels sprouts grow in nodules attached to the side of a tall stem with a cluster of leaves perched on top. The stem and tops are usually left to compost in the field or fed to farm animals, but both are edible. The tops, in particular, are delicious – sweet and fragrant, like the best spring cabbage – so it’s both fun and frugal to buy the plant whole. Roasted, it makes a grand centrepiece for the festive table.
You can buy whole plants (ie with the sprouts on the stem and the top attached) and sprout tops at good greengrocers, farmers’ markets and box schemes. Keep your purchase somewhere cold, otherwise plan to cook it within 24 hours; alternatively, remove the sprouts and top, and store unwashed in the crisper drawer of the fridge for up to a week. If your brussels start to wilt or spoil, roast them as in today’s recipe, cooking them on a high heat until they char around the edges and turn bitter and delicious.
Roast sprouts and sprout tops with pomegranate molasses, orange and chilli
This is a delicious way to use up past-their-best sprouts and sprout tops. The bittersweet sprouts, super-sweet pomegranate molasses and sharp oranges make for a dreamy combination of flavours, while the chilli brings the whole dish to life. I like to roast sprout tops until they are well charred, so they turn crisp on the outside and chewy and caramelised on the inside. If you prefer less colour, roast them at 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6 for half an hour instead, until soft and how you like them.
While I was working on this column, Harry Dyer and Sam Best at wholesale grocer Shrub Provisions put up a post on their Instagram with a caption that read: “Topping or pruning the top of ... sprout or kalette stems ensures the plant matures at the same time, producing abundant and well-formed sprouts or kalettes. Only relatively recently have the often discarded tops made it to markets and kitchens, which is a shame and a revelation.”
I rang Harry to find out more, and he described the tops as huge, mild-tasting brussels sprouts and added that even if you don’t like sprouts, you will probably like sprout tops, because they are milder than sprouts or cabbage. He especially likes them blanched, chargrilled and dipped in (or dressed in) hollandaise sauce.
Serves 4 as a side dish
1 brussels sprout top, or 300g brussels sprouts
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp pomegranate molasses, plus extra to serve
Sea salt
40g chopped nuts – hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts
To serve
Plain yoghurt (plant-based or dairy)
1 orange cut into slices
Chilli flakes
Heat the oven to 210C (190C fan)/410F/gas 6½. Cut the sprout top in half vertically from top to bottom and put in a roasting tray. Drizzle evenly with the oil and molasses, then season with a pinch of sea salt; if you’re using regular sprouts, too, cut them in half, then toss in the oil and molasses. Either way, roast for 20 minutes, until they soften and start charring at the edges; after 12 minutes, scatter the nuts into the tray and roast for the final eight minutes, to toast.
Serve straight from the roasting tray splattered with your choice of plain yoghurt, orange slices, a pinch of chilli flakes and a final drizzle of pomegranate molasses.
