Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Goji berries and Couscous

When I grew up, we almost always had a 3 component meal: potatoes, vegetables and meat. But according to me, that’s a tad boring. I prefer a plate with lots of different colours, tastes and textures, all combined into one… Like this dish!

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Gojiberries and Couscous

Ingredients (for 2 people)

• 500g Brussels sprouts, tips cut off, discolored leaves removed and sliced in half
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• Salt
• 40g dried Goji berries
• 75g crumbled goat cheese
• 30g walnuts
• 150g couscous
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

Directions

• Preheat the oven (and a parchment lined baking sheet) to 275°C, on grill stand
• Meanwhile, cook the couscous according to the instructions on the package
• In a medium sized bowl, toss the prepared Brussels sprouts with olive oil and salt. Toss well, so that the sprouts are evenly coated in a thin layer of oil.
• Once the oven is preheated, get out the baking sheet and pour the Brussels sprouts onto the parchment
• Put the baking sheet back in the oven and let the Brussels sprouts broil for about 5-10 minutes. Check the sprouts for doneness—their tops should be a little browned and the bottoms caramelized.
• Meanwhile, toast the walnuts. Just heat them for a couple of minutes over medium heat in a nonstick pan without any oil or fat. Make sure not to let them burn!
• Toss the couscous, sprouts, Goji berries, crumbled goat’s cheese and toasted walnuts onto a plate and drizzle with balsamic vinegar and honey. Season with salt to taste.

Source: adapted from Cookie and Kate

Mushroom soup

At first, I want to tell you how much I missed cooking these last 2 days!
On Wednesday, we had a party at the office, which was really nice. It included a wine tasting with accompanying food. Yum, wine!
And yesterday I went to Holland with my mom and sister in law. It was sooo much fun! We shopped ‘til we dropped. I bought all sorts of nice ingredients and cooking stuff, which you will see appear on ‘Julienne’ in the coming days 😉

It’s really nice to be back, so let’s start off with a heart warming fall soup…

Mushroom soup

Ingredients (for 1l soup)

• 1/2 Tbsp margarine
• 1 large onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 medium potatoe, peeled and diced (1cmx1cm)
• 500g mushrooms, brushed clean and chopped into quarters
• 1 bouillon cube (I used vegetable)
• 1l water (I always preheat it in the water boiler)
• salt
• pepper
• some basil leaves and cream (I used soy) for garnishing

Directions

• Preheat the margarine in a medium pot
• Sauté the onion for 5 minutes
• Add the diced potato and chopped mushrooms
• Crumble the bouillon cube over the pot and last but not least: pour in the boiling water.
• Let the soup simmer for about 10 minutes (you can check if it’s done by putting a knive in one of the potato cubes)
• Blend the soup with an immersion blender
• Season to taste with salt and pepper
• Garnish each bowl with some cream and basil leaves

Lemon Garlic Brussels Sprouts with Potatoes and Cheese Croquettes

We had a nice Flemish meal tonight!

Fall means fall vegetables, and the Brussels sprouts were on sale in the supermarket, so Brussels sprouts it was!
When I grew up, we always had sauteed Brussels sprouts with bacon pieces. But since I’m a vegetarian now, I decided to add a little flavour another way. This recipe was amazing! Fresh thanks to the lemon and savoury thanks to the condiments and the gruyere… These babies will be on the menu a couple of more times this fall/winter.

Lemon Garlic Brussels Sprouts with Potatoes and Cheese Croquettes

 

Ingredients (for 2 people)

• 450g Brussel Sprouts
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped finely
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2 Tbsp gruyere, grated
• salt & pepper
• 500g potatoes
• salt
• 4 cheese croquettes

Directions

• Clean the Brussels sprouts by trimming off the ends and peeling the outer layer of the sprout off. Cut each one in half.
• Meanwhile, put a pot with a layer of salted water on the stove. When the water’s boiling, add the cleaned and cut potatoes to the water. Cook them for 15-20 minutes.
• Preheat the deep frier for the cheese croquettes.
• Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
• Once heated, add the halved Brussel sprouts and the finely chopped garlic to the pan and saute for about 7-8 minutes on each side until the outer part is a caramelized brown and the inside is soft and fully cooked.
• Meanwhile, prepare the cheese croquettes in the deep frier.
• Reduce the heat under the pot of sprouts to low and add the lemon  juice, salt and pepper.
• Sprinkle the gruyere on top and serve with the potatoes and cheese croquettes.

Source: adapted from What’s Gaby Cooking