A few weeks ago, I attended my first wedding of the season. We laughed, we cried and we ate. We ate these amazingly perfect charred brussels sprouts with a creamy-yet-spicy tahini based dressing (some would say sauce) sprinkled with roasted pepitas served at a local restaurant. It was so good I immediately set out to make it myself, to enjoy on the regular, without the pomp and circumstance of a ceremony to precede it. And now you can to, and I present to you these roasted brussels sprouts with cilantro tahini dressing. Something to celebrate indeed.
The wedding I went to was the first I’d attended in a while, years to be honest, and I realized how much I really do love weddings, and also very much missed going to them. I guess that’s the problem when you get to the ripe age of 38 (oy). Wedding wave one happen in your late 20s-early 30s, and then another may start around 34-35. By the time you get to 37-38, they’re few and far between and if you’re like me and many of my friends, you’re left wondering how you managed to not grab a board, a boy and ride one of those waves yourself. That’s not a wallowing statement, more of a pondering one. Such as it is.
Enough deep thoughts about why I’m still single (but, hey, I’m so awesome at it) and let’s get down to these sprouts. Roasted brussels are so much a thing of the now, and they’re shaking off the bad reputation from the 100 years before when they were mushy and gross and served only in orphanages. Now, they’re on every restaurant menu, from the bar to the bougie, and roasted seems to be the most popular way about it. These wedding sprouts had a delightful sauce which I wager would be fab on any sort of veg, roasted or otherwise. I set off to make it and it’s so ridiculously easy and brilliant, you’ll be wondering why cilantro-tahini wasn’t a thing. I’m wondering that at least.
The roasted sprouts take the longest- the dressing whips up in the food processor or blender with few ingredients and even fewer minutes to prepare.
Toasted pepitas finish it off for crunch and texture. The whole thing is best for…any occasion. And for these? I definitely say I Do.
Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Cilantro Tahini Dressing
Roasted brussels sprouts are tossed in a homemade tahini-cilantro dressing with fresh cilantro, creamy tahini and spicy red pepper flakes and finished with roasted pepitas.
Ingredients
- For the brussels sprouts:
- 1 pound brussels sprouts, sliced in half if large, left whole if small
- 2 TB olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- For the dressing
- 1 cup fresh cilantro
- 1/3 cup tahini sauce
- 1 lime, juiced
- 2 TB olive oil
- 1/3 cup water (or more, for consistency)
- 1 TB crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup toasted pepitas
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat the oven to 400F.
- Step 2 Line a baking sheet with foil. Add the brussels sprouts, toss them in the oil, salt and pepper. Roasted for 30-45 minutes until charred and crispy.
- Step 3 While the sprouts are cooking, make the dressing by adding all of the ingredients to a food processor or blender. Puree until smooth, adding more water if a thinner sauce is desired.
- Step 4 Once the brussels sprouts are cooked, toss in desired amount of dressing and the pepitas. Serve warm.
I’ve had Brussles Sprouts a few different ways but never roasted, I bet it brings out a nutty flavor. I love the addition of the pepitas and I bet the dressing takes the whole dish over the top. My family would eat this as a side dish, but I could eat it over brown rice and call it dinner!
I hope you do try them!