Some friends of mine and I have formed a group called “Paladar Sin Fronteras” (Palate Without Frontiers), where we share recipes and restaurant tips from our traditional Spanish cuisine, our travels and our particular interests. One of my friends, Carolina, shared this traditional Spanish recipe, which I’ve altered slightly after trying it a few times. (Gracias Caro!)
I’ve been meaning to post this recipe for a few months now, but as incredible as it may sound, I keep forgetting to photograph it. This time I remembered, albeit it was a night picture with not the best lighting, and honestly it doesn’t do the dish justice.
Additionally, we were cutting up what was left of our “pata de jamon serrano”, so there was a lot of nice, dry pieces of jamon perfect for making this recipe.
This is really delicious and a different way of preparing the “dreaded” Brussels sprouts. Well, not dreaded for our household, but I know many people who do not like their bitter flavour and keep trying to come up with alternative ways to camouflage it. I personally think that this almond sauce brings out the best in this vegetable. In fact, I repeated in the morning and ate them for breakfast!
For the hard-core Paleo, who doesn’t cook with wine, this is not for you. Without the wine, it’s just not the same; although having said that, maybe apple cider could work (although I’ve not tried it yet). If you cannot get your hands on some dry jamon serrano, bacon bits can be substituted… but the jamon is the better match, I must say. 😉
This sauce also works really nicely for canned (in a glass) artichoke hearts. If making it with the artichoke hearts, though, add a bit less wine, to compensate for the acidity of the artichoke.
- 3 cups brussels sprouts, cut in half and steamed (you can also use artichoke hearts)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup blanched, whole almonds
- 2 cloves garlic, sliced lengthwise
- 1/3 cup dry white wine
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/3 cup tiny pieces of jamon serrano, or bacon bits
- 1 medium red onion, julienne style, finely sliced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- coarse sea salt, to taste
- some fresh onions, for garnish
- In a saucepan over low heat, melt the butter with the garlic and almonds. Sauté until the almonds are slightly golden-brown.
- Remove from heat and allow to slightly cool before placing into a food processor or blender.
- Add the wine and water and puree until smooth. Set aside.
- In the same saucepan over medium, add the olive oil and sauté the onion until tender. Add the already cooked brussels sprouts and jamon and cook about 2 minutes.
- Add the almond puree and cook an additional 2 minutes, until the sauce has thickened. Add sea salt, to taste.
- Serve garnished with fresh chopped onions, if desired.
Debra parece un plato muy sano, creo que en esta semana lo probaré, pero tuviste que emplearte a fondo para limpiar tu encimera después de cortar el jamón!!! jejejejejeje. En España es muy fácil encontrar jamón serrano ya cortado en cachitos! Un saludo.
Hola Tere! Pues si, dos veces tuve que limpiar la encimera! Pero merecio la pena, sacamos un montón de taquitos y huesos para el puchero, etc. Las coles de bruselas así están estupendas! No las había probado nunca hasta que Caro compartió la receta en Paladar… pruebalas y veras como te gustan seguro. Besitos.