Brussels sprouts often get a bad rap. They’re the villain of the Christmas table. Poor, over cooked, farty specimens are pushed to the side of plates nationwide. I was the only person who would devour my sprouts round our table. My brothers wouldn’t even entertain the thought of having them on their plate, and even my vegetarian mother would sneakily hide hers under leftover mashed potato. People, we need to give sprouts a second chance. Wipe that mushy memory from your minds and instead think of delicious, garlicky sprouts, caramelised in bubbling butter and tossed with blue cheese and chestnuts. Doesn’t that sound devine?!
I found this recipe in an amazing cookbook I picked up a few days ago, Pasta Secrets by Laura Santtini. I’ve poured over the pages of the book so many times since I bought it, there are mountains delightful sounding pasta dishes, as well as tips on how to make your own pasta or how to get the best from the dried variety. I absolutely adore it and would recommend this one to any pasta lovers out there!
Up until I made this pasta, I had no idea that sprouts were named brussels sprouts and not just brussel sprouts. Maybe it’s because of the words running in to each other that I’ve never noticed this glaring gap in my knowledge of the English language. My long suffering other half often complains of this problem. The last letter of his first name is the same as the first letter of his surname resulting in a snakelike hiss whenever you pronounce it in full. I think this is the perfect reason for him to adopt my surname should we ever get married, but I doubt I’ll win that fight 😉
Brussels Sprouts, Blue Cheese and Chestnut Pasta
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 2 1x
Description
Wipe the old mushy, farty brussles sprouts memory from your minds and instead think of delicious, garlicky sprouts, caramelised in bubbling butter and tossed with blue cheese and chestnuts. Doesn’t that sound devine?!
Ingredients
- 60g butter
- 2tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 250g brussels sprouts, halved
- 1/2tsp dried chilli flakes
- 180g pack of cooked chestnuts, halved
- 200g dried pasta
- 150g blue cheese, crumbled
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Put a large pan of salted water on to boil.
- Heat the butter in a large, heavy bottomed frying pan, add the crushed garlic cloves then place the brussels sprouts in the pan, flat side down, in a single layer. Throw in some salt, pepper and the dried chilli flakes and allow to cook until the sprouts start to caramelise. Add in the chestnuts and sauté with the sprouts for a few minutes until the sprouts are cooked through and not too soft. Remove from the heat.
- When the water is at a rolling boil add in the dried pasta and cook according to the packet instructions.
- Reserve a cup of the pasta water before draining. Tip the pasta into the sprouts and add the crumbled blue cheese. Toss together over a high heat, adding in a little of the pasta water to loosen.
- Serve immediately with plenty of freshly ground black pepper.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Pasta
- Cuisine: British
I'm not much of a fan of brussels but I wonder if this is becasue I've only ever been served them up overcooked and plain on the side of my plate at xmas! They sound like a good addition to your pasta dish! Maybe I'll give it ago this year!
You totally should, they're transformed when they've been roasted or caramelised. So tasty!Katie xoxo
I'm one of the few people in my family who like Brussels Sprouts. I am not a fan of blue cheese so probably wouldn't add that. But I've done sprouts with pancetta and garlic before to spruce them up at Christmas and even my "I hate greens" husband devoured them x
This looks so good. I love Brussels sprouts and blue cheese.
We all love brussel sprouts. I don't think I've ever tried chestnuts before though. This sounds like a delicious recipe.
I am not a fan of Brussels sprout but with the past and this cheese, you might have convinced me! It actually looks yummy!
I'm never normally a fan of sprouts but this looks like it could be a passable way to eat them haha. You're right they do get a bad rep x
This looks heavenly, I never usually bother with Sprouts at christmas as I am the only one who would eat them and it seems wasteful. I might buy some especially for this though! Perfect christmas leftover food.
This looks and sounds just absolutely amazing and I love the addition of blue cheese x
This sounds like Heaven on a plate! I absolutely love Brussels sprouts, and have made something similar to this in the past. Blue cheese is a perfect pairing for it.
I never knew there was an ‘s’ in the name either, what a cool little fact. I’m one of the few that actually really love Brussels sprouts, this looks so delicious!
Whoo this looks delicious. I am not usually a fan of brussels but with blue cheese and pasta, it look nice and tasty 🙂
That looks a great way to eat your Brussels. I actually quite like them but the kids, well, you can imagine. I don't think even blue cheese would work its magic with them.
Oh my this looks so interesting. I'm not a lover of blue cheese so I wonder if it would work with any other.
I'm not a fan of Brussel sprouts but have to admit that this looks great! I love blue cheese and the flavour would probably mask the sprouts a little!
I love sprouts, especially with smoked bacon so I'd probably chuck some lardons in with this recipe too, it sounds so yum!
What a great idea!! Next time I make this I'm throwing in some bacon!! Katie xoxo
We normally shred our Brussels and stirfry them in butter with bacon and chestnut mushrooms, and even my children love them. This however sounds absolutely delicious so I will be having a go very very soon!!
We always have brussel sprouts at Christmas but struggle to figure out what to do with the ones we don't use on Christmas day. I love the sound of this recipe though so will be giving it a try
Oh my goodness that sounds amazing! Love this flavour combination with a hearty bowl of pasta. Perfect!
This sounds delicious! Brussel sprouts do have an (unfair) poor reputation, don't they?
I only ever eat Brussels sprouts at Xmas which is silly. I don’t tend to like them on their own but in combination dishes I think they are great. This one sounds lovely
Chestnuts, nice! I'm not a big fan of Brussels sprouts but I could easily replace them with other vegetables because the rest of the recipe looks fantastic.