Friday 2 March 2012

Caramelised Brussels

NAME: _Caramelised Brussels

INGREDIENTS/UTENSILS:
12 brussels sprouts
100g butter
1 tbsp onion
1 tsp garlic
UTENSILS
heavy bottomed small saucepan that will the at least half filled by the brussels

METHOD:
Begin by melting the butter in the saucepan, over low heat on a small burner. Finely chop half a brown onion and keep a tablespoonful. Roughly chop one clove of garlic and keep a teaspoonful. Trim stalks and hard/weathered leaves off the brussels, cut into quarters. Rinse under running water and drain but don't dry off.

Put the onion and garlic in the saucepan and keep warming until onion is beginning to go transparent, add the quartered brussels and increase the heat until moisture has boiled off, then reduce the heat to around 100C.

Brussels are done when they are all beginning to brown, and are soft to pierce with a wooden skewer.

SERVING:
Serve as a side dish.

NOTES:
The idea of this and the Honey Caramelised Carrots recipe are to use almost confit style cooking, but whereas confit requires the cooked food to be immersed in a fat, this is a compromise between shallow frying and confit.

ENJOY!

Honey Caramelised Carrots

NAME: _Honey Caramelised Carrots

INGREDIENTS/UTENSILS:
2 carrots
1 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp salt
100g butter
UTENSILS
heavy bottomed small saucepan that will the at least half filled by the carrots

METHOD:
Begin to heat the butter in the small saucepan on low heat on a small burner. Peel the carrots or brush well, slice into 3mm thick rounds. Wash under running water and drain but do not dry off. Place in the pot with the butter, drizzle honey over, sprinkle with salt. Increase heat temporarily until moisture has boiled off, stirring gently several times.

Reduce heat to the slow simmer, and check from time to time, stirring if necessary. Carrots are done once a few caramelised spots develop, or you can keep going until the slices are quite reduced. The important thing is to keep a low level of heat that's just around the boiling point of water so that the carrot slowly cooks and the sugars caramelise without burning.

SERVING:
Serve as a side dish to many meals, where the sweet caramel taste would be suitable. I serve it with things as diverse as bangers and mash, roast and veges, and when cooked a bit longer to almost crisp point, as a garnish floated on top of chicken and noodle soup.

NOTES:
The idea of this and the Caramelised Brussels recipe are to use almost confit style cooking, but whereas confit requires the cooked food to be immersed in a fat, this is a compromise between shallow frying and confit. 

ENJOY!

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