You rarely find a NYT recipe with hundreds of 5 star ratings, but here’s another winner from the indefatigable Melissa Clark. I doubt her family has ever been served the same dish twice. This comes together quickly with powerful flavors of pancetta, garlic, rosemary, and chile.
You could slice the sprouts in a food processor, but it’s pretty easy to do it yourself with a knife as the slices don’t need to be uniform. Bacon works great instead of pancetta, and red pepper flakes can replace the fresh chile. Don’t skip the drizzle of olive oil and lemon juice at the end.
Many commenters added more brussels sprouts than called for as they do cook down quite a bit. If your pasta water is heavily salted, be careful adding more to taste. I found a splash of white wine from the glass I was drinking while I cooked was a nice addition. This was a hit with my husband who may not have even realized what exactly he was eating; just that it tasted great!
Sea salt
8 ounces penne or other short pasta
2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil, more for drizzling
3 ounces pancetta, diced
1 large rosemary sprig
6 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
1 jalepeno or Serrano chile, thinly sliced (or substitute 1 large pinch red pepper flakes)
Freshly ground black pepper
8 ounces (or more) brussels sprouts, thinly sliced
2 tsp. butter
Fresh lemon juice for serving
Freshly grated pecorino cheese (optional)
Bring a large pot heavily salted water to a boil. Add the penne and cook until pasta is just al dente (do not overcook.)
Meanwhile, heat large saute pan over high heat and add the olive oil. When oil is hot, add the pancetta and rosemary and saute until the fat on the pancetta starts to turn translucent and very lightly brown, about 1 minute. Add the garlic, chile and freshly ground black pepper to taste, and saute until sprouts just start to soften, about 2 minutes. Spread sprouts mixture in pan and press down to flatten. Let it sear for a minute, then stir it up and repeat. This helps to brown the sprouts. Add the butter, and saute for another minute.
Drain penne and add it to the pan with brussels sprouts mixture. Cook, tossing, until everything is well mixed. Spoon into pasta bowls and top with a drizzle of oil and lemon juice, and a little cheese if you like.
Serves 2.
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