Recipe: baked sprouts with a stuffing crust

December 11th, 2012

By Jane Baxter of Riverford

Brussels haters may well be converted by this festive dish that truly makes the most of sprouts. It wouldn’t look out of place alongside chicken or sausages, or even with some roast turkey.

Serves 4-6

* 750g sprouts
* 3 tablespoons of duck fat or butter
* 1 teaspoon caster sugar
* Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 100g smoked streaky bacon, chopped
* 1 garlic clove, crushed
* 1 tablespoon chopped sage leaves
* 1 teaspoon thyme leaves
* 150g soft breadcrumbs
* Finely grated zest of 1 orange
* 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
* 100g peeled, vacuum-packed chestnuts, roughly chopped
* 200ml chicken stock

1 Preheat the oven to Gas 3 (160°C).

2 Peel and trim the sprouts and cut into quarters lengthways. Toss in an ovenproof dish with one tablespoon of the duck fat and the sugar. Season well.

3 Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes, until just tender.

4 While the sprouts are cooking, brown the bacon in a frying pan in the remaining duck fat, then add the garlic, sage and thyme. Cook for one more minute, remove from the heat and stir through the breadcrumbs, orange zest and parsley. Season.

5 Stir the chestnuts into the sprouts. Pour over the chicken stock. Top with the stuffing mixture and return to the oven for 10 minutes, or until golden.

Jane Baxter is joint-author of Riverford cookbook, Everyday and Sunday Recipes from Riverford Farm