Brussels Sprouts with Sauce Piquante

Brussels Sprouts with Piquante Sauce in dish

When browsing through hundred-year-old cookbooks, I came across a recipe for Brussels Sprouts with Sauce Piquante. Sauce Piquante is known for its complex, spicy flavor. Since many old-time sauce recipes make very mild and delicate sauces, I was intrigued by this recipe and decided to give it a try.

The Brussels Sprouts with Sauce Piquante was excellent. The delightful, tangy sauce worked well with the earthy, slightly bitter Brussels sprouts. I may not see many old recipes for spicy sauces, but based on how well this recipe turned out, cooks a hundred-years ago definitely knew how to make lovely, lively sauces.

Here is the original recipe:

Recipe for Brussels Sprouts - Sauce Piquante — Source: 1926 cookbook compiled by the Domestic Science Class of the Peoria (IL) Women’s Club

The recipe calls for “mustard.” It does not say whether it is for dry mustard or prepared mustard. In general, hundred-year-old recipes call mustard in a jar “prepared mustard,” so I assumed that the recipe author was referring to dry mustard.

Since the Brussels sprouts were boiled in salted water, adding an additional 1 teaspoon of salt in the sauce seemed like a lot, so I reduced it to 1/2 teaspoon when I updated the recipe.

I didn’t use a double boiler when I made the sauce. Rather I cooked the sauce using medium-low heat while stirring constantly.

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Brussels Sprouts with Piquante Sauce

Servings: 4 - 6
Time: 20 minutes
Difficulty: moderate
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1 quart (about 1 pound) Brussels sprouts

water and 1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup vinegar

2 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon powdered sugar

1/4 teaspoon paprika

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1/2 teaspoon curry powder

1/2 teaspoon, chopped parsley (or use parsley flakes)

1/2 teaspoon onion juice (or use finely minced onions or onion powder)

Step 1. Trim Brussels sprouts and remove any damaged outer leaves. Put in a saucepan and cover with water. Add 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil using high heat, then reduce heat and simmer until tender (about 10 minutes). Remove from heat and drain.

Step 2. In the meantime, put the olive oil, vinegar, beaten eggs, dry mustard, 1/2 teaspoon salt, powdered sugar, and paprika in a saucepan. Stir to combine, then heat using medium-low heat until the mixture thickens while stirring constantly. (If the thickened sauce is lumpy, strain and then return the sauce to the saucepan.)

Step 3. Add the melted butter, curry powder, chopped parsley/parsley flakes, and onion juice/minced onions/onion powder to the sauce. Stir to combine; heat with medium-low heat while stirring constantly until the mixture is hot and just beginning to bubble.

Step 4. Put the cooked Brussels sprouts in a serving dish, then pour the sauce over Brussels sprouts. Serve immediately.

http://www.ahundredyearsago.com

Old-fashioned Brussels Sprouts with Cream Sauce

Brussels Sprouts with Cream Sauce in Dish

I often hear friends say that they hated the boiled Brussels sprouts their mother made, but that they now love roasted Brussels sprouts. But I must admit that personally I liked those Brussels sprouts of lore, so was intrigued when I saw a hundred-year-old recipe for Brussels Sprouts with Cream Sauce.

I was pleased with how the recipe turned out. The recipe called for cooking the Brussels Sprouts for 15 minutes, so they were more tender and less crunchy than roasted ones – but I liked them. And, they were lovely when served in a cream sauce.

An aside: One reason Brussels sprouts taste different now than in the past is because of changed cooking methods. Another reason is that plant breeders have developed modern varieties of Brussels sprouts that are less bitter than the old-time varieties.

Here’s the original recipe:

Brussels Sprouts with Cream

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Brussels Sprouts

Servings: 5 - 7
Time: 25 minutes
Difficulty: moderate
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1 quart (about 2 pounds) Brussels sprouts

2 quarts water

1 teaspoon salt +1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons flour

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 cup half and half (or use milk for a lighter sauce)

Wash Brussels sprouts, cut off stems, and remove any wilted leaves. Put into a large saucepan. Cover with the water; add 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil using high heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until the Brussels sprouts are tender, then drain.

In the meantime, in another saucepan, using medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter; stir in the flour, pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Gradually, add the half and half while stirring constantly. Continue stirring until the Cream Sauce thickens. Remove from heat.

To serve: Pour the Cream Sauce over the cooked Brussels sprouts; stir gently to coat the Brussels sprouts with the sauce. Put in bowl and serve.

http://www.ahundredyearsago.com

Old-fashioned Brussels Sprouts Au Gratin

Now that Fall is in full swing, I’m enjoying several seasonal vegetables. One of them is brussels sprouts.

Brussels Sprouts Au Gratin is an old-time way to serve them. The delicate essence of the cheese in the sauce nicely balances the slightly bitter taste of the brussels sprouts.

Brussels Sprouts Au Gratin

1 pint (2 cups) brussels sprouts

1 1/2 tablespoons butter

1 1/2 tablespoons flour

3/4 cup milk

2/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/3 cup bread crumbs*

Preheat oven to 350° F. Wash the brussels sprouts and remove any wilted leaves; then put in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil using high heat, then reduce heat to medium and simmer until the brussels sprouts are tender (about 5 minutes). Drain well.

Meanwhile, in another pan, using medium heat, melt butter; then stir in the flour. Gradually, add the milk while stirring constantly; add the cheese. Continue stirring until cheese sauce thickens.

Add the brussels sprouts to the cheese sauce. Stir gently to combine. Put into a casserole dish, and sprinkle the bread crumbs on top of the mixture. Bake until hot and bubbly (about 15 minutes).

*Note: To make the bread crumbs, I took a bread crust, folded it into quarters, and then used a grater to grate the crumbs.

3 servings (Recipe can easily be doubled.)

An aside—I struggled when I wrote this post because I couldn’t decide whether to capitalize brussels. I googled it, and found that there was no consensus. I ended up using a lower case b –but don’t really like how it looks. What do you think? Should the b in brussels be capitalized?