Brussels sprouts, okra, and offal

I belong to a Facebook group called South Philadelphia CommUNITY Foodies (link) and a couple of weeks ago, some asked “What is one thing you REFUSE to eat.”  The responses seemed to fall into two pretty clear categories – offal and vegetables.  Now I have to confess that I have some sympathy with those who have trouble with offal.  I’m not exactly the intrepid gastronome that you might imagine.  I watch Andrew Zimmern on Bizarre Foods regularly as he salivates over brains or eyeballs or tripe but that doesn’t mean I want to emulate him.  My mother used to make liver and onions every once in a while and it wasn’t bad.  I loved the chicken hearts I’ve had at South American churrascuria restaurants.  I once sampled chicken feet at a Chinese dim sum palace until I found out what they were, but that’s about the extent of my adventures in alternative meat.  I understand when someone says they just won’t/can’t eat something.

But the vegetable thing is something else altogether and I think it might have as much to do with how we prepare certain vegetables than how the vegetables actually taste.  Brussels sprouts are a good example of what I’m talking about.  When I was growing up, brussels sprouts were prepared in only one way – boiled.  In fact, they were boiled to death.  They were boiled until they became a green, mushy mess with the texture of damp paper towels and a taste that was not all that dissimilar.

That wasn’t all that was wrong brussels sprouts, though.  As they were boiling away, they would often release a noxious odor that polluted the kitchen and served as a prequel to the noxious odors released by diners whose digestive systems had trouble processing them.  All in all, not a pleasant experience for the cook, the diners, or anyone else in the house.

Yet I now consider brussels sprouts among my favorite vegetables and I owe this newfound allegiance to the discovery that brussels sprouts don’t have to be broiled – they can be roasted!  When I prepare brussels sprouts these days, I nearly always roast them and you couldn’t ask for a simpler preparation and the results are delicious.

I trim the stem and slice each one in half lengthwise, then spread them out on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil or parchment paper.  Sprinkle some olive oil, salt, and pepper over the top and then pop into the oven.  At about ten minutes in, I’ll take them out and shake them up.  At fifteen minutes or so, they’ll be ready and if you’ve only had boiled brussels sprouts, you’ll be amazed.  The outer leaves will fall off and char, adding a crunchiness you won’t expect.  The sprouts themselves will be softer but will still have some solid texture to them, and some sweetness that is very unexpected.  I’ve actually cooked these to snack on, they are that good.

The same thing is true with okra, another vegetable that gets a bad rap. Okra has a reputation of being slimy and if you’ve only had okra in gumbo or okra that’s been braised or stewed, that reputation may be well deserved.  It still tastes good but I understand how someone may find it a bit off-putting.  I found a recipe (and I don’t remember where) a few years ago for a different approach to okra and it has become another go-to technique.

I pan fry whole okra in a little bit of oil in a hot skillet and then season with garlic salt and hot pepper flakes.  Heat up a tablespoon of either vegetable oil or olive oil (based on your taste preference) in a skillet until it’s almost smoking.  Then toss in the okra and toss it around a bit.  Keep tossing until you begin to see char marks on a couple of places of each piece – this should take 3-4 minutes.  Then sprinkle with garlic salt and a pinch or two or hot pepper flakes and plate.  I tried doing this with garlic slices and minced garlic, but the pan was so hot the garlic burnt.  The garlic salt works just fine.  The okra itself is crunchy, not soft and slimy, and it turns out that okra has a fairly complex and pleasant flavor that  is amplified by the garlic and the pepper.  It’s a great side dish to a big flavored protein, like a steak or highly seasoned tuna.

Maybe some day I’ll overcome my fear of offal by discovering the perfect way to cook brains or tripe, but until my local meat counter is as likely to stock tripe as the produce department is to stock brussels sprouts, I’ll be able to avoid that temptation.

Recipe – Roasted brussels sprouts

Ingredients

1 lb whole brussels sprouts

olive oil

salt

pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 425°

Trim the base of each brussels sprout and then halve them lengthwise (through the root).  Spread them out on a baking sheet lined with foil or parchment paper.  Sprinkle with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and then toss to cover.  Place in oven.

After ten minutes, remove the pan and toss the brussels sprouts to help them cook evenly.  Put the pan back in the oven.  Check and toss periodically.  They should be ready after 15-18 minutes or so, but be careful about overcooking.  Serve immediately.

Recipe – Pan fried okra

Ingredients

1 lb whole okra

1 tbl olive oil or vegetable oil

garlic salt

red pepper flakes

Directions

Rinse and dry the okra.  Heat the oil over medium high heat until it is just on the verge of smoking.  Add the okra and shake to cover with the hot oil.  Continue shaking/stirring for 3-4 minutes until char marks begin to appear on all the individual okras.  Be careful about overcooking – each individual okra should be charred, crunchy, hot, and cooked through.  Sprinkle generously with garlic salt and with red pepper flakes to taste. Serve immediately.