Sprouts (and bread sauce) are not just for Christmas. They are delicious finely sliced in a slaw, but fried like this is my favourite way to prepare them. Make sure you don’t overcook them, as the crunchier the better.
Serves: 2
Photography: Laura Edwards
Styling: Rosie Ramsden & El Kemp
Season: Autumn/Winter
Ingredients
For the bread sauce
550g milk
100g double cream
50g butter
1 bay leaf
5 cloves
1 banana shallot, halved
5 black peppercorns
nutmeg, for grating
100g breadcrumbs
salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the sprouts & hazelnuts
olive oil, for cooking
175g sprouts, halved
5g sage, finely chopped
30g hazelnuts, roughly chopped
50g butter
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Subs
cream – more milk
shallot – a small white onion
hazelnuts – chestnuts
Method
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Place your milk, cream and butter in a medium saucepan. Add the bay leaf, cloves, shallot and peppercorns. Grate in a little nutmeg. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to infuse for a minimum of 30 minutes, ideally 1 hour.
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When infused, strain the milk and return it to the pan. Add the breadcrumbs and cook over a medium heat until it begins to thicken. Whisk regularly to stop it from sticking. Remove from the heat when it is just a little looser than you would like. Season to taste.
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Heat a frying pan with a little olive oil over a high heat. Add the sprouts, cut-sides down, and cook for a minute, or until coloured but still crunchy. Add the sage and hazelnuts to the pan along with the butter and cook for a further minute. Remove from the heat and season to taste.
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If the bread sauce has thickened too much while you were cooking the sprouts, simply add in a splash of cream and stir over a low heat to loosen. Pour into a shallow bowl, spoon the sprouts on top and drizzle with the melted butter.
Read more: Supper
Throughout the various lockdowns over the pandemic, Flora began cooking up what she called #FridayFeasts using recipes from cookbooks, friends and her own, all to keep her going at a difficult time. The result was her third cookbook, Supper. Filled with beautiful photography and creative, delicious recipes for dinners, whether for two or for a crowd, it’s the perfect companion for slow, evening cooking. Supper by Flora Shedden (Hardie Grant, £22) Photography by Laura Edwards.
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