I've never been much of a Brussels sprout fan. As a child I avoided them like the plague on Christmas Day, refusing to let anyone even attempt to put one on my plate, let alone convince me to try a single bite.
As I got older I put up less of a fight about them being on my plate, as it seemed like a battle I wouldn't win, however, I still didn't eat them - until more recently when I became concerned about food waste and reluctantly gave them a go.
But it was very a case of forcing them down, and I definitely didn't like them - certainly not!
However, today I have to hold my hands up and confess I've become a Brussels sprout convert and I owe it all to Masterchef's Kenny Tutt.
The chef, who won the cooking competition in 2018, shared five different ways to cook sprouts with The Mirror, and having tried each one I can confirm they're delicious and would be the perfect accompaniment to any Christmas dinner this year.
The five methods included roasted sprouts with a warm honey glaze, shredded sprouts with bacon and roasted nuts, sprouts with cranberry butter, roasted sprouts with thyme, lemon and Parmesan as well as an Asian-style dressing to use on any leftover sprouts on Boxing Day.
To make the different recipes, we predominantly used kitchen cupboard items you'll likely already have on hand at home, or purchased ingredients cheaply from Tesco, to prove that good food doesn't have to cost a fortune.
If you, much like me, consider yourself a sprout hater, then these five recipes might just change your mind. Here's a look at how to give each one a go at home...
Roasted sprouts with thyme, lemon and Parmesan
First up is a roasted sprouts recipe, which Kenny claims "uplifts" the vegetable and gives it a "new lease of life" which is exactly what we're after.
The chef begins by taking some sprouts (you can use as many as required for your meal) and chopping the ends off, before cutting them in half. The halves are scattered on a baking tray and drizzled with a little olive oil.
Following this, Kenny chops two cloves of garlic and scatters it over the top, before adding the grated zest and juice of half a lemon, along with some grated Parmesan (or Pecorino) and a sprinkle of salt.
"Parmesan, lemon, garlic, a little bit of salt, mix it all around and all you're going to do is get them into a nice hot oven, so the sprouts get nice and golden and crispy. About 25 to 30 minutes at 180C, keep an eye on them so they don't burn," he says.
"You'll get beautiful umami sprouts with the Parmesan and the freshness of the lemon, it's something so tasty and different."
Shredded sprouts with bacon and roasted nuts
For this method, Kenny starts by shredding some Brussels sprouts using a handheld mandoline. This is one of his kitchen 'must-have' items, although he warns to take extra care when doing this at home to avoid cutting or slicing your fingers. If you don't have a mandoline, simply chop with a sharp knife.
The shredded sprouts go into a bowl and to this he adds a generous handful of chopped mixed nuts and some cooked bacon cut up into small pieces.
The mix then goes into a pan over a medium heat on the hob and will cook almost "instantly" in just three or four minutes as the sprouts are so fine.
The chef explains: "We've shredded the sprouts, you can use a mandoline or a sharp knife. Shred your sprouts, add some beautiful crispy bacon, I've used streaky bacon but you can use whichever you prefer and then pop that straight in with your sprouts and some chopped salted or un-salted nuts, a touch of oil, a little sprinkle of salt - but not too much as you've got the bacon already.
"Give that a stir and get that over a medium heat. Super simple, super delicious."
Sprouts with cranberry butter
The third method elevates the humble boiled Brussels sprout by adding spiced cranberry butter, which melts all over the hot vegetables and is the taste of winter in a mouthful.
"An easy way to bring your sprouts to the next level is with flavoured butters, you can flavour them with most things, but this one is a really lovely recipe that will last in the fridge for about a week," Kenny tells us.
"I've taken about half a block of butter, a nice generous tablespoon of cranberry sauce, I like using whole cranberry sauce as it adds a bit of texture, and then I've just got some warming spices, a little bit of cumin, ground cinnamon and some ginger and if you haven't got them all, don't worry, you can use whatever is in your spice cupboard, it's just about jazzing the flavour up. It's about half a tablespoon of each.
"Finally I'm adding a touch of salt, but if your butter is already salted you might not need to add this.
"All you're going to do is then just break that down, using a spoon, make sure the butter is soft and mix it all through and slowly but surely you'll have a nice, spiced butter.
"You can make it in advance and roll it up in some clingfilm, then on Christmas day pop some of that on top of your hot, boiled sprouts and you've got a beautiful festive treat."
If you don't end up using all of your butter on your sprouts, then Kenny advises spreading some on your turkey, or any other white meat you're cooking or popping it on toast with some honey for a tasty breakfast.
He adds: "The cranberry butter is quite versatile, it's got those nice warming spices so it gives a real taste of Christmas."
Sprouts with a warm honey glaze
Sometimes it's the simplest of recipes that taste the most satisfying and this couldn't be more true of Kenny's warm honey glaze, which proves it only takes a few common kitchen cupboard ingredients to really make the vegetable "sing"
Simply grab some honey, lemon juice, thyme and a little salt and mix it all up in a bowl. Pour over your sprouts and voilà - one tasty side dish.
Do you love or hate sprouts? Have your say in the comment section below.
The expert said: "So this is a super easy glaze that will lift the sprouts, you just get some honey, lemon and thyme and a little bit of salt. It's just enough, with a few ingredients to make the sprouts sing.
"All you need is a good squirt of honey, the juice of a whole lemon and plenty of fresh thyme. Thyme is really beautiful and goes really well with Christmas meat, adding a lovely, floral, woody aroma to the whole affair.
"Put that in a bowl, give that a mix-up and that can just be drizzled all over your sprouts, the honey will go all sticky and it will have a lovely scent."
Kenny goes on to say that you can add the glaze to any kind of sprouts - roasted, boiled, shred, whatever you fancy - but as an example, he caramelised some halved sprouts in a pan before adding a touch of butter, drizzling over the glaze and giving it a good stir.
Asian-style sprouts with soy, chilli and garlic
And last but not least, Kenny shared an Asian-style dressing he claims is the perfect way for sprout "haters" to embrace the vegetable.
While this recipe probably won't pair well with a traditional festive feast on December 25, it's a delicious way to use up any of your leftover sprouts on Boxing Day or beyond.
"This one is a little bit different, it's probably for the sprout hater who wants to give it a different flavour. It's a nice Asian-style dressing to go over your sprouts," explains the expert.
"Really simple, again we're using lots of store cupboard ingredients. Grab a bowl and add a nice glug of soy sauce, a couple of tablespoons of honey and then if you have some roasted sesame seeds, add a sprinkle of those as they'll give it a lovely nutty flavour, but they're optional.
"Then we're going to hit it up with some finely chopped garlic, or crushed garlic. You could also use garlic paste. And finally pop about half a chopped red chilli in there and I keep the seeds and the pith in as well as it gives a really nice heat.
"Give that a mix and it's like liquid gold, spicy, salty, sweet, hot."
To put the whole dish together, Kenny cooked some halved sprouts in a frying pan on the hob, then added the dressing and let it all warm-up and caramelise.
Do you have any unusual Christmas dinner recipes? Email courtney.pochin@reachplc.com
