Brussels Sprouts in Cheese Sauce
Brussels sprouts. Baked in a cheese sauce. With bread crumb topping. If you're a Brussels sprouts fan, your ship just came in. Wait, though: we took this incredibly healthy vegetable -- and kept it healthy! Bonus: it's quick and easy to make with one little cheat on the sauce.
Cooking Temperature 175 C / 350 F / Gas mark 4
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup Water
- 3 ⅓ pounds Brussels Sprouts fresh (1.5 kg)
- 2 slices Bread
- 1 teaspoon Oregano
- 1 teaspoon Ground Pepper
- 2 tablespoons Italian Dressing fat-free
Instructions
- Spray the inside of a 2 litre / 2 quart casserole dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
- Empty the sauce mix into a microwave safe jug or bowl. Disregard package directions and instead measure 1 ½ cups (12 oz / 350 ml) of water. Add a small amount of that water to the sauce mix, whisk to make a smooth paste, then add the rest of the water and whisk till smooth. Cook in microwave for 2 to 3 minutes until thick, then set aside to let it thicken some more as it stands.
- Trim the Brussels sprouts and wash them. Cook them until tender. [1]
- Start heating over to 175 C / 350 F / Gas mark 4.
- Transfer the cooked sprouts in a large bowl or pot. Add the cheese sauce, mix carefully until all sprouts are coated with sauce. (If the sauce got too thick, you can whisk in a bit more water.) Put in casserole dish.
- Rip up the two slices of bread to make fresh bread crumbs. Put in a small bowl, season to taste with herbs of your choice such as oregano, savoury, rubbed rosemary, black pepper, etc. Add the 2 tablespoons of fat-free Italian dressing, stir to mix. Sprinkle the bread crumbs on top the Brussels sprouts, spray the top of bread crumbs lightly with 1 to 2 sprays of cooking spray (this helps them brown better for "curb" appeal.)
- Bake for about 35 minutes or until piping hot and bread crumbs are golden brown.
Notes
You can make this up to a day ahead; store covered in refrigerator and remove from fridge ½ hour before baking.
[1] Brussels sprouts cooking times: Boil small to medium-sized ones for 5 minutes, large-sized ones for up to 15 minutes. Or pressure cooker: 6 minutes for small to medium ones, 12 minutes for large ones.
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