Makes 4 servings
These skillet-charred Brussels sprouts are dressed with salty feta, sweet honey, spicy red pepper flakes, and a dose of lemon juice create for layers of contrasting flavors. Cooking the sprouts in a searing-hot skillet creates a deep caramelization of natural sugars that counters the vegetable’s tendency for bitterness. Chopped almonds contribute a rich, nutty crunch; pomegranate seeds also work nicely, adding pops of color and tang.
Get Starting Point
A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.
Be sure to reduce the heat to medium once you’ve added the sprouts; this ensures they char and become tender but don’t burn. And choose Brussels sprouts that are similarly sized; small to medium ones work best.
Advertisement
1 pound small to medium Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved (see headnote)
1 tablespoon neutral oil
2 teaspoons plus 2 tablespoons honey, divided, plus more to serve
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
½ to ¾ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 ounce feta cheese, crumbled (¼ cup)
¼ cup roasted almonds, roughly chopped, or pomegranate seeds, or a combination
Advertisement
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley or chopped fresh chives, optional, for garnish
In a medium bowl, toss the sprouts with the oil, 2 teaspoons of the honey, ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon black pepper.
Warm a 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat until water flicked onto the surface immediately sizzles and evaporates. Place the sprouts cut side down in the pan, then reduce the heat to medium; reserve the bowl. Cook without stirring until deeply browned on the bottoms, 5 to 7 minutes.
Using tongs, flip the sprouts and cook, stirring occasionally, until a skewer inserted into the largest sprout meets just a little resistance, 4 to 6 minutes; lower the heat if the sprouts brown too quickly.
Return the sprouts to the bowl, then immediately add the remaining 2 tablespoons honey and pepper flakes; toss. Add the feta, almonds, and lemon juice; toss again. Taste and season with salt and black pepper.
Transfer to a serving dish and, if desired, drizzle with additional honey, and top with the chopped herbs (if using).
Prune, Peppercorn, and Fresh Herb-Rubbed Roast Beef
Makes 10 servings
At Milk Street, we challenged ourselves to transform a thrifty, low-cost cut of beef into a lush, celebratory meal. The answer was eye round, a roast often deemed too lean to be tender. The cut is taken from the hind leg of a steer, so there’s little marbling, the usual key to keeping meat moist.
To roast this tough cut and get succulent, perfectly cooked results, we marinate the meat in ingredients that do the work for us. We start with a sticky, sweet puree of prunes. That may sound unusual, but prunes are high in hygroscopic sorbitol and fructose, which—along with salt and soy sauce—amplify the way the meat absorbs flavor. The puree also adheres well to the roast, promoting moisture retention and a caramelized crust without the trouble of browning. Ketchup and anchovies add rich umami, while rosemary, thyme, and black peppercorns bring an herbal kick.
Advertisement
To boost the marinade’s effect, we poke the roast repeatedly with a fork. The roast beef tastes best after marinating for 48 hours, but 24 will work.
Don’t check the roast too frequently. A succulent roast relies on even cooking at a low temperature; opening the oven door interrupts the process. Instead, use an oven-safe thermometer (the type that can be left in the roast as it cooks) to monitor the meat’s temperature during cooking.
8 ounces pitted prunes (about 1½ cups)
½ cup soy sauce
¼ cup ketchup
2 tablespoons black peppercorns
2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons fresh thyme
3 oil-packed anchovy fillets
Kosher salt
5- to 6-pound beef eye round roast, trimmed of silver skin
Fresh horseradish sauce, to serve (optional)
In a food processor, blend the prunes, soy sauce, ketchup, peppercorns, rosemary, thyme, anchovies, and 4 teaspoons salt until smooth, about 1 minute. Transfer to a 2-gallon zip-close bag. Poke the roast all over with a fork, then place in the bag. Turn to coat, then seal the bag and refrigerate for 48 hours.
Heat the oven to 275 degrees with a rack in the middle position. Set a wire rack in a rimmed baking sheet. Remove the marinated roast from the bag and transfer to the rack. Discard the mixture in the bag and brush any marinade clinging to the roast’s surface into an even coating. Roast until the center of the meat registers 125 degrees, 1¾ hours to 2 hours.
Advertisement
Transfer the roast to a carving board, tent with foil, and let rest for 30 minutes. Thinly slice and serve with the horseradish sauce, if desired.
Shaved Pear and Endive Salad With Blue Cheese and Pecans
Makes 4 servings
Sweet, salty, tangy, bitter—this salad has it all, as well as crispness from the toasted pecans and creaminess from the blue cheese. A mandoline creates perfectly thin slices of vegetables and fruit that combine beautifully with baby arugula.
Dressing the pear with lemon juice and salt and letting it stand while you prep the endive and radicchio not only prevents discoloration, it infuses the fruit with a tartness that balances its natural sugars. Don’t use a fully ripe pear. Choose one that’s still quite firm; it will be easier to shave.
⅓ cup golden raisins
3 tablespoons sherry vinegar, divided
1 medium Bartlett or Bosc pear
½ teaspoon grated lemon zest, plus 2 tablespoons lemon juice, divided
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
2 medium endive
1 medium head radicchio
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
3 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
⅔ cup pecans, toasted and chopped
4 cups lightly packed baby arugula
In a small microwave-safe bowl, stir together the raisins and 2 tablespoons of the vinegar. Cover and microwave on high until the raisins are hot and have absorbed the liquid, about 1½ minutes; set aside.
Adjust the blade of a mandoline to slice 1⁄16-inch thick. Cut the pear lengthwise into quarters and remove the core from each piece. One at a time, slice the pear quarters lengthwise as far down as is safe; discard the remaining pieces and transfer the pear slices to a large bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice and ¼ teaspoon salt, then gently toss; set aside.
Advertisement
One at a time, hold each endive by its base and slice the head starting at the tip and slicing as far as is safe to the base; discard the base and add the sliced endive to the pear. Halve the radicchio and, one at a time, slice each half as you did the endive; discard the bases and add the sliced radicchio to the pear and endive.
In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, lemon zest, remaining 1 tablespoon lemon juice, remaining 1 tablespoon vinegar, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper.
Set aside 3 tablespoons each of the cheese and pecans for garnish. Add the arugula to the bowl with the pear and endive. Add the raisins, dressing, and remaining blue cheese and nuts, then gently toss. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
Transfer to a serving bowl or plate and sprinkle with the reserved cheese and nuts.
Christopher Kimball is the founder of Milk Street, home to a magazine, school, and radio and television shows. Globe readers get 12 weeks of complete digital access, plus two issues of Milk Street print magazine, for just $1. Go to 177milkstreet.com/globe. Send comments to magazine@globe.com.
