Roasted Brussels sprouts with hazelnuts & goat’s cheese

Roasted Brussels sprouts are a classic winter dish. In the oven they develop a lightly sweet, nutty flavour. With a simple dressing of honey and vinegar, crunchy hazelnuts, soft goat’s cheese and fresh pomegranate seeds, it becomes a proper side dish for a weekday meal or a dinner party.

Serves: 4
Preparation: 10 minutes
Cooking: 20 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 600 g Brussels sprouts
• 2 to 3 tablespoons mild olive oil
• 1 tablespoon runny honey
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar
• 1 clove garlic
• Handful of hazelnuts (about 40 g)
• 80–100 g soft goat’s cheese
• 1 pomegranate (or about 75 g pomegranate seeds)
• A few sprigs of fresh thyme
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

• Preheat the oven to 220 °C (or 200 °C fan).
• Line a baking tray with baking parchment.
• Trim the base of the Brussels sprouts, remove any unsightly leaves and halve them. Rinse briefly and pat dry well with kitchen paper.
• Roughly chop the hazelnuts.
• Peel the garlic and finely chop.
• Strip the leaves from the thyme sprigs.
• Remove the seeds from the pomegranate and set aside.

Method

1. Put the Brussels sprouts in a large bowl. Add the olive oil, honey, vinegar, a pinch of salt and some freshly ground black pepper. Toss well so the sprouts are coated all over.
2. Spread the sprouts, cut-side down, over the baking tray. Make sure they are in a single layer and not too close together.
3. Roast the sprouts in the oven for 10 minutes.
4. Remove the tray from the oven. Add the finely chopped garlic, the roughly chopped hazelnuts and the thyme leaves. Toss the sprouts briefly.
5. Return the tray to the oven and roast for a further 8–10 minutes, until the sprouts are tender and golden brown and the hazelnuts are lightly toasted.
6. Remove the sprouts from the oven and spoon them onto a serving dish or leave them on the tray. Crumble the goat’s cheese over and sprinkle over the pomegranate seeds.
7. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper if needed and serve immediately, so the sprouts are warm and the cheese is just starting to soften.