Your Brussels sprouts do not have to be purple, these just happened to show up in my CSA box, but you do have to make this dish. They are my re-creation of a shared appetizer that my mom, sister and L. had a few months ago in some otherwise uninteresting restaurant and scarfed down.
These sprouts would make a great appetizer but also served me well as an interesting side dish. I served it with grilled mackerel but pork chops would be good foil as well. Quite frankly, you could make this Brussels sprouts dish with just the Balsamic reduction, the onions and a tiny bit of salt and it would be heavenly - the rest is just gilding the lily.
1 lb Brussels sprouts, tailed and cut in half
1/2 red onion, peeled and diced
3/4 cup dried cranberries or cherries
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese (if using this do not add salt to the dish)
1 jalapeño or other chili pepper, thinly sliced
1/3 cup Balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp olive oil or 2 Tbsps duck fat
Heat the oil or duck fat in a large skillet. As soon as it sizzles, tip in the Brussels spout halves and sprinkle the red onion over the top. Lower the heat and let the Brussels sprouts cook for 6 minutes WITHOUT stirring them. Shake your pan to move the Brussels sprouts around and cook 2 minutes more without stirring. This will give some color and texture to your sprouts. Nothing worse than a mushy one.
While your sprouts are cooking, heat the Balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan over medium heat until reduced by half and syrupy, just a couple of minutes. I find stirring counter productive because so much of the syrup stays on the spoon but I recommend swirling the vinegar around in the pan from time to time as it reduces so that it doesn't stick.
As soon as you have finished cooking the sprouts, remove from the heat and drizzle the reduced vinegar over the top. Stir gently to combine. If not using the cheese and other ingredients, salt before serving.
If going the whole hog, sprinkle the top of the sprouts with the crumbled cheese, chili pepper slices and the dried fruit. Again, stir gently to distribute the ingredients evenly.
Serve at once and sit back to see people eat more sprouts than you thought possible. This could possibly even convert die-hard sprout haters.