Recipe of the week - Sauté Sprouts with Smoked Bacon

December 9, 2014 by Chef Justin from Justin's Food Company

If you live in a household where you find those sprouts being pushed around the plate on Christmas Day, it maybe time to try something new with those underrated green vegetables.

Try these easy Sauté sprouts with smoked bacon, this will change their taste from straight forward boiling - Serves 4

Ingredients:

- 1kg sprouts (loose and unpeeled)
- 4 rashes smoked bacon or pancetta
- Drizzle of olive / rapeseed oil
- 50g unsalted butter
- Sea salt / fresh ground black pepper

Method:

1. Prepare your sprouts buy trimming the bottom off and removing the outer leaves, then cut the sprouts in half. Cut your bacon into roughly 1cm cubes.

2. Place a Heavy based pan onto a medium heat, (allow to heat) add a drizzle of oil then your bacon, fry for around 2 minutes then add the butter, allow to melt, then add the sprouts and fry for around 2 minute stirring a couple of times but not to often as you want to get a nice golden caramelisation on the sprouts. Season with a pinch of sea salt and double the amount of black pepper. Continue to cook for a further 5 minutes, after this time the sprouts should be just cooked and still have a nice bit of texture to them.

3. Serve onto plates or into a vegetable dish and remember to scrape on top all the tasty bits left in the pan.