Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Garlic, Parmesan and Capocollo

Last week, I confessed to loving strawberries. This week, my confession runs deeper…I love brussels sprouts. Now, stop making that face and just give me a moment here. They are a close second to broccoli. Both are best when roasted. I could live off of them all. These adorable little veggies have gotten a bad rap and I feel like I should exclaim my love and start a PR campaign to promote them. As you can see, it resembles baby cabbage and what I learned this weekend, it is part of the brassica family, Brussels sprouts are also kin to broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi, and turnip. I’m a huge fan of all of those. Granted, my husband still wouldn’t even try it even though I told him that I had a type of Italian bacon added. My daughter..she asked for seconds. That’s my girl!

The prep is fairly simple by simply trimming the ends and peeling a couple of leaves. Cut them in half and lay them on a non-stick baking sheet or a casserole dish. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with sliced garlic and chopped capocollo and pop in the oven at 425 for 20 mins. 5 mins before their almost completely golden brown, sprinkle grated parmesan cheese and voila, you have the most scrumptious side dish or in my case, this is a meal I enjoy on its own. 

Ingredients

* 1-1 1/2 lbs Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved or quartered if large

* 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

* 5 slices of capocollo or if not available you can use pancetta or procutto. 

* 2 large garlic cloves, minced
* 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

* Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

* Optional red pepper flakes

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 F. Lightly oil a heavy baking sheet or shallow roasting pan.

2. Mound the Brussels sprouts on the sheet pan, drizzle the olive oil over them and toss gently to coat. Sprinkle the chopped bacon, sliced garlic and sprinkle parmesan and add freshly ground salt and pepper and season with pepper flakes.

3. Roast for about 25 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally to ensure even cooking, until the sprouts are tender and lightly browned. Once golden to your liking, remove from oven and serve hot. 

Enjoy!