Recipes

Pan Speared Brussels Sprouts with Speck and Pecorino

Roasted Brussels sprouts with crispy speck and shaved pecorino recipe card.

Ingredients

  • 12 ea Head Brussels (golf ball size)
  • 100g Speck, Guanciale, Bacon (More fat the better)
  • 50g Pecorino
  • 2tbs Olive Oil
  • Salt and Pepper
  • Lemon Juice

Method

Knife Work:

  • Cut all Brussels Sprouts in half length ways
  • Cut Speck into thick Lardons (1cm x 3cm approx)
  • Cut Lemon into wedges ready for finishing

Cooking:

  • In a large cold heavy based pan, place all lardons in and put onto the heat on a low to medium heat to render the fat (melt), 5 – 10 minutes, the speck will start to colour once golden brown remove from the pan and put the lardons aside ready for finishing (keep the fat in the pan)
  • In the same pan, add the olive oil (it will seem like a lot of oil, the brussels will drink the oil as they cook) and bring up to a medium heat.  Put all the brussels in cut side down and sear, we’re looking for a deep golden brown colour.  As the brussels sear, they will cook through, to check take one out of the pan cut in half and taste.

Finishing:

  • Once brussels are cooked, add lardons back to the pan, add a pinch of salt and pepper and squeeze of lemon and toss through, once again taste brussels sprouts to check seasoning.
  • Once happy with seasoning (acidity and salt), plate on a prewarmed plate and shave pecorino over the top (be generous with the pecorino).

Chef Tips:

  • When cooking all things, we must consider the saltiness of the ingredients, although this recipe calls for salt to finish, there are ingredients which are naturally salty (speck, pecorino), be careful with seasoning, best way to check is to taste at every stage.
  • Seasoning doesn’t just mean salt and pepper, it means acidity as well, with all cooking ask yourself – could this do with some vinegar or lemon juice.
  • Vegetables cool down quickly, make sure this dish as fresh as possible and on a warm plate (vegetables can be the star of the show too).
  • Only enjoy this dish in the colder months (late autumn-early spring), simplicity relies on great ingredients and choosing ones that are in season is of paramount importance.
  • Using good quality speck can be the difference between good and great (use the best)

Storage:

  • This can be eaten the following day, however the beauty of the dish is its simplicity and freshness.

Notes:

  • Ideally a heavy based pan will work great, but other pans will work too
  • If you have a microplane (fine grater), shave pecorino last minute, otherwise shave ahead of time and sparkle over the finished dish.

Thanks to Jackson Gloyne and FINO Seppeltsfield for this recipe.
www.fino.net.au
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