The American renaissance side: sprouts roasted hard until caramelised and crisp, glazed with balsamic
Origin: California, United States
From the journey of Brussels Sprout.
The roasted Brussels sprout, blistered and caramelised in a hot oven and glazed with balsamic, is the dish that rehabilitated the vegetable for a whole generation. For most of the twentieth century the American (and British) sprout was boiled, often to a grey and bitter softness, and widely loathed; the turn of the present century brought the discovery, in the restaurant kitchens of California and New York, that high, dry heat transforms the sprout utterly, the leaves crisping and browning, the cut faces caramelising, and the vegetable turning sweet, nutty, and irresistible. Glazed with balsamic vinegar (or a balsamic reduction), which adds a sweet-sharp note and a glossy finish, and often scattered with bacon, Parmesan, or toasted nuts, the roasted sprout became one of the defining vegetable dishes of the American farm-to-table movement and spread around the world through the 2010s. It belongs to the cool coastal valleys of central California, the heart of the American sprout crop, and to the seasonal, market-driven cooking that the state made its own. Simple, fast, and reliably converting even the staunchest sprout-sceptic, roasted Brussels sprouts with balsamic are the clearest expression of the modern way with a vegetable that, cooked like this, bears no resemblance to the boiled sprout of memory.
For a heartier version, roast diced bacon or pancetta alongside the sprouts. A balsamic reduction (balsamic simmered until syrupy) clings better than plain vinegar. These are best eaten straight from the oven; they soften as they sit.
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