roasted brussels sprouts with grapefruit, cinnamon & star anise

here it is: the first crazy combo by ottolenghi from his new "plenty more". the intention in the recipe is to use pomelo instead of grapefruit, but hey... i'm only human. with only a ton of work on the side, crazy hobbie and bunch of fabulous friends that i want to see every leap year or so, if possible. hm. so, sadly, no, i simply do not make it to globus delicatessa every weeknight. and since we don't have wholefoods and the likes in switzerland... oh well, that's possibly for the better, anyway... i do not wear an apron as soon as i come home and i do not prepare a candle light dinner every night. in fact, most nights i simply collapse on the couch. that's about as glamorous as it gets. so do not pester me with pomelo, do you hear me? sorry, minor breakdown.

so what's the drill: it's a really fragrant, surprising dish. and as always with ottolenghi, it makes sense. also, i quite like how it seems ottolenghi and i are on friend-terms. which we're not (since we do not know each other in person, although i know him, hehe). but we would totally be, if he only knew me. tiny little piece missing in the formula.

roasted brussels sprouts with grapefruit, cinnamon & star anise

recipe adapted from ottolenghi's "plenty more"
rezept auf deutsch auf si style

ingredients:

100 g sugar

1 cinnamon stick

5 star anise

3 tbsp. lemon juice

2 grapefruits (or pomelo), segmented

600 g brussels sprouts, stemmed and halved

250 g shallots (i used less), peeled and halved

75 g olive oil

10 g coriander (cilantro), roughly chopped

salt & pepper

directions:

first, prepare the syrup with the flavors: combine sugar, cinnamon, star anise and 100 ml of water in a saucepan. bring to a boil and cook for about 1 minute, until the sugar has dissolved. remove from the heat and let cool slightly. add the lemon juice. then add the grapefruit segments and let marinate for at least 1 hour.

in the meantime prepare the oven to 220 c / 430 f. note: ottolenghi wants us to quickly blanch the sprouts first but i simply couldn't be bothered... i like my sprouts nice and roasted, anyway. so i ommited that step, but go ahead and blanch them for 3 minutes first if you want, then drain and pat dry and continue as follows: spread the sprouts on a baking sheet lined with parchment, together with the shallots. dress with olive oil and season with salt and pepper, toss to coat a bit, then roast for about 20 to 30 minutes. remove and let cool a bit. 

remove cinnamon and star anise form the syrup, drain the grapefruit segments and keep the syrup. to serve, toss the roasted sprouts together with the marinated grapefruit segments. add a bit of the syrup to act as additional flavour and dressing. season with more salt and pepper if necessary. then serve and savour.