SQIRL'S SHAVED and PAN-ROASTED BRUSSELS SPROUTS with ROASTED PEARS {recipe}

Sqirl's Shaved and Pan-Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Roasted Pears {recipe}

from Everything I Want to Eat: Sqirl and the New California Cooking cookbook

serves 6

Ingredients

2 to 3 Warren pears
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons Champagne or white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
fine sea salt
2 pounds, 10 ounces Brussels sprouts, trimmed
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
¾ cup pomegranate arils (seeds)
⅓ cup toasted chopped hazelnuts
¼ lightly packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped, plus more for garnish
½ lemon

Directions

Cut the pears lengthwise into quarters, scoop out the cores, and trim off the stems.

Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a wide pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 pear (4 quarters), cut-sides down, to the pan and cook until lightly caramelized, about two minutes. Rotate and caramelize the other cut sides for another 1 to 2 minutes, until tender but not mushy.

Transfer to the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, Add the Champagne vinegar, honey, and ½ teaspoon salt. Blend until completely puréed. Then, with the motor running, slowly drizzle in the oil and continue blending until the dressing is emulsified.

Cut 1 pound of the Brussels sprouts in half. Doing so will cause some of the outermost leaves to fall off. Keep the loose leaves in a little pile on the cutting board.

Return the pan to the stove and heat over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Add the remaining 4 tablespoons butter. As soon as the foam subsides, add the cut Brussels to the pan, arranging each one cut-side down. Cook, without stirring the sprouts, for 2 to 3 minute. Flip, season evenly with ½ teaspoon salt, and cook the rounded sides for another 2 minutes.

Add the reserved outer leaves and the sherry vinegar, and shake the pan to distribute. Cook for 10 more seconds, just to wilt the leaves, then transfer to a plate.

Shave the remaining raw Brussels sprouts thinly on a mandoline. This takes forever with a knife, but a food processor fitted with a slicing/shredding blade would also work. Toss the shaved Brussels sprouts into a large bowl. Add the pomegranate seeds, hazelnuts, parsley, about three-quarters of the dressing, and ½ teaspoon salt. Toss to coat everything well. Taste, adding a bit more salt or dressing, if you want.

Thinly slice the remaining pear quarters. Serve the salad with pan-roasted Brussels sprouts and the sliced pears tucked in. Finish with a big squeeze of lemon juice, and a handful of parsley on top.