Sunday, November 29, 2009

Brussels Sprouts and Clementine Sections with Citrus Poppy Seed Vinaigrette



Fall means brussels sprouts season at our house. As I have explained before my husband loves brussels sprouts so I try to make him a different version each week. This is the version I dreamed up tonight. It is a cross between a salad and a side dish. My father, who hates to cook, actually asked me for the recipe tonight. He said it was his favorite dish at dinner. Quite an endorsement I thought.

If you don’t have clementines or tangerines substitute one orange instead. I didn’t include the zest tonight because the citrus wasn’t organic. Had it been I would have added the citrus zest to the dressing for extra flavor. The citrus was not supremed because I have read that the citrus membrane is full of nutrition and potentially prevents cancer. Research is recent, but it seems to indicate the citrus membrane keeps trigylcerides down and helps prevent color and liver cancer in lab animals.

Tonight’s sprout dish is a combination of things that my hubby loves. Sprouts and poppy seed dressing are two of his favorites so I knew he would like the dish (and he did). I didn’t expect my parents to be so taken with it. If you are a sprout fan you may like it to. Here is what I made tonight.

Brussels Sprouts and Clementine Sections with Citrus Poppy Seed Vinaigrette
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

4 cups brussels sprouts, cleaned and cut in half
1 tablespoon clementine juice (1/2 a clementine)
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon agave
½ tablespoon extra virgin olive oil or canola oil
1 pinch salt
1 pinch freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon poppy seeds
2 ½ clementines, sectioned, seeds removed

Directions:

Microwave the brussels sprouts until they are tender crisp (3 minutes in my microwave).

Combine the clementine juice, wine vinegar, agave, olive oil, salt, pepper and poppy seeds. Whisk to incorporate the dressing.

Pour the dressing over the warm sprouts so that they will absorb more of the dressing. Add the clementine sections to the sprouts and toss to coat them in the dressing. Serve warm or room temperature.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 103.08
Calories From Fat (24%) - 24.88

Total Fat - 2.87g
Saturated Fat - 0.43g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 475.39mg
Potassium - 599.7mg
Total Carbohydrates - 18.2g
Fiber - 5.32g
Sugar - 7.52g
Protein - 4.58g

Comments:

The flavor of the dish is well balanced. It isn’t really sweet, or tart. Even I enjoyed this, and I am not a sprout lover.

If you want to reduce the fat reduce the poppy seeds, most of the calories in poppy seeds are from fat. I like the texture they add, but they are optional.

Each serving of this dish contains more than 1,200IU of vitamin A, 120mg of vitamin C, 100mg of calcium, 100mcg of folate, 220mcg of vitamin K, and 100mg of phosphorus.

Unrelated note:

I need to get my kitchen cleaned from dinner and work in a little more exercise.

I hope to have time to post another Thanksgiving recipe tonight. If not tonight I will get at least two of them posted tomorrow.

I hope you are all having a great evening.

10 comments:

  1. This looks exceedingly delicious and so good for you too. I'm making this one this week for sure...we've got California organic satsumas and local organic brussel's sprouts at our co-op at the moment...this is a perfect way to use them.

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  2. Rose,

    Thanks! :) I really appreciate the compliment and comment. I hope you like it as much as we do.

    talk to you soon,
    Alicia

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  3. I made a brussels sprout salad for Thanksgiving dinner this year. This was a new concept to me and I wasn't sure how it would turn out. Turned out to be a huge hit! Mine was a pretty indulgent version involving maple glazed pecans and dijon mustard dressing. Too high cal for everyday consumption, but yours certainly isn't! I love the way this version sounds. I hope to try this soon, I just need the citrus and I'm on my way!

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  4. Sarah,

    I make a fairly healthy version with agave and dijon as well if you want to take a look at that recipe from early in November. You are right, this version is certainly healthy, and we all liked it. I hope you do too.

    Thanks for the comment, and have a great evening,
    Alicia

    ReplyDelete
  5. This salad looks and sounds really good! I have never thought of using microwave to cook brussels sprouts. I love the way you cooked this dish, it sounds so quick and easy. I believe you didn't even have to do cleaning pot or pan at all!

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  6. Alicia, hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving!
    This looks really good. I need to go grocery shopping today and I'm adding sprouts to my list so I can make this. I already have a case of clementines. They are one of my favorites because they are so easy to peel!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oraphan,

    I use the microwave to cook things when I am busy doing other things and it works fine as long as you don't overcook the food. Always start with half the amount of time you think you need to avoid overcooking, that is what I do.

    You are right, I only had to clean the bowl that went into the microwave and the little bowl I made the dressing in. It was an easy recipe.

    Janet,

    We had a nice Thanksgiving, thanks for asking. I hope yours was good too!

    I am glad you like the sound of this. It was really quick and had a nic flavor.

    I love clementines too, for the same reason.

    I hope you both have a great day,
    Alicia

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  8. Hi, Ali!

    BW and I sifted through your blog this morning looking for brussels sprouts recipes and picked several we want to try, including this one. BW immediately glommed onto this one, and suggested we use chia seeds instead of poppy seeds. I thought that sounded like a great idea! Have you tried that? I'm going to look for fresh brussels sprouts when I go to town Wednesday. Wish me luck! :-)

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  9. Lalo,

    I have not tried chia in this recipe but I don't see why they wouldn't work. Hemp seeds or almonds also worked, btw. I used poppy seeds for Dan because he loves them.

    I think you will be surprised by this. Brussels have a very light flavor when they aren't over cooked.

    Alicia

    ReplyDelete
  10. Lalo,

    I have not tried chia in this recipe but I don't see why they wouldn't work. Hemp seeds or almonds also worked, btw. I used poppy seeds for Dan because he loves them.

    I think you will be surprised by this. Brussels have a very light flavor when they aren't over cooked.

    Alicia

    ReplyDelete

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