Posted on: Wednesday, June 18, 2003

FOOD FOR THOUGHT
A mystery of cooking solved at last

By Wanda A. Adams
Advertiser Food Editor

It doesn't rank with the day I baked perfect pita bread or the first time I made a butter sauce, but I had one of those great food revelations recently: A friend introduced me to a foolproof way to cook Brussels sprouts.

I have always wanted to like Brussels sprouts: They're good for you, low in calories, a significant source of vitamin A and magnesium, kinda cute in a vegetablish way.

It's just that they're so difficult to prepare properly. In fact, I don't think I've ever eaten them when they weren't half-wrong. That is, if they're done on the outside, they're gray, soggy and overcooked on the inside. And if they're just right outside, the inside is raw, like biting into a cabbage core.

Martha Stewart, whatever her other problems, does often come up with A Good Thing, and this is one of them: Instead of cooking Brussels sprouts whole, she cuts the leaves off the core and quickly boils them. There's a little work involved but not much. Here's how to do it:

With a sharp paring knife, trim the ends from the Brussels sprouts and core them, running the tip of the blade in a circle around the white, hard center and digging it out; discard the center. Pull off the leaves and toss them in a bowl. You'll have a little nub of core at the end and you can either discard it or cook it.

Bring a pot of briskly boiling salted water to a boil and throw the leaves in; cook briefly, just until the water comes back to the boil and the leaves are a bright green. Drain in a colander. Stop the cooking with a quick douse of cold water; place in a serving dish. Have at the ready a little melted butter or some warmed extra virgin olive oil; drizzle this over the leaves and serve.

My first reaction on tasting Brussels sprouts this way was: Where have you been all my life? The leaves glow with a bright, healthy green; the texture is pleasantly chewy; the taste has none of that harsh, minerally background that you get from overcooked greens.

You can do the Brussels sprouts in the microwave, too: Toss the leaves with a drizzle of water and drain, leaving behind whatever water clings to the leaves. Microwave on high for a minute, toss the leaves with a fork and microwave again for 30 seconds.

The other day, at a tasting for Aloha Airlines meal service, which is designed by Alan Wong's operation, chef Barbara Stange served beautifully done Brussels sprouts; her solution was to cut them in half crosswise and blanch them in well-salted water. She instructs the chefs that work with her to put the larger sprouts in the water first and to taste along the way. The sprouts, which are part of an Aloha Airlines first-class dinner service, are served drizzled with olive oil. In the restaurant, the sprouts are blanched and sauteed with butter and salt.