Elevating the humble sprout; 100% plant-based, 100% delicious!
Originally published here: https://medium.com/a-vegan-life/brussels-sprouts-hash-with-coconut-bacon-5a44447817b7
Sprouts are food of controversy, for many years they have been relegated to a soggy corner of a roast dinner, overcooked, slathered in gravy, forgettable.
I am here to tell you that this is wrong, sprouts can be so much more, they can be beautiful, delicious, tasty and let’s not miss out — healthy!
That’s right; they are good for you.
I created this hash back in my low carb days of CrossFit and would initially top it with a fried or poached egg. Now that I am plant-based eggs no longer feature in my diet. Removing the egg seemed to render the hash a little sad; it felt like the prize on the top had been taken away. So I introduced the coconut bacon, for a delightful salty, sweet bite which complements the sprouts so well, and a big handful of toasted sunflower seeds for a satisfying crunch.
This works great as a meal in itself, but we also like to have it with some seitan steaks or vegan sausages.
Brussels Sprouts Hash With Coconut Bacon
Makes: 3–4 servings.
Time: Approx 45 mins to 1 hour.
Coconut Bacon Ingredients & Method
I batch cook the coconut bacon so that I can use it in salads and to sprinkle over pasta, rice and soups. It will keep for a couple of weeks (if it lasts that long) and retain its crunch in an airtight jar.
500 grams makes a large jar; if you only want to make it for this meal, I would suggest quartering the recipe.
Coconut Flakes — 500 Grams
Maple Syrup — 1 Tablespoon
Tamari (Soy or liquid aminos also fine) — 4 Tablespoons
Chilli flakes — 1 Teaspoon
Smoked/sweet paprika — 2 Teaspoons
Smoked salt — 1/2 Teaspoon
Liquid smoke — 2 Teaspoons
You will need a metal or glass baking tray or dish ideally. You can do it on foil, but the mix can be quite sticky, so it’s a bit more challenging to move things around.
Method
Preheat your oven to high while you prepare the bacon mix.
Put your coconut flakes in whatever you plan to bake them in.
You want the layer to be quite thin so you can move them around and make sure they crisp up nicely.
For 500 grams of flakes, I spread them between two trays.
Add in the maple syrup, tamari, liquid smoke and smoked salt.
Stir the mixture well, once it’s combined add in the chilli flakes and smoked paprika, making sure it’s evenly distributed through the coconut.
Turn your oven down to low.
Put the coconut in the top of the oven and bake for 10–15 minutes. This will vary depending on your oven. Once the bacon starts to cook, it is a speedy process; you will need to keep a watchful eye and give it a good mix every minute or so, to make sure it’s evenly baked.
It will get much darker in colour, and the edges will brown. It will also crisp up a bit, but will not be completely crispy until it has been allowed to cool.
Turn the oven off and leave the bacon in there to cool.
Brussels Sprouts Hash Ingredients & Method
Fresh Brussels Sprouts — 800 grams
I used fresh purple and green, but frozen will also work fine
Red Onions — 2 Medium
Garlic — 5 Cloves
Salt & pepper to taste
Sunflower Seeds — 50 Grams
Neutral oil; I used Grapeseed — 1 Tablespoon
(you can omit this entirely and just use a splash of water)
‘Not chicken’ stock powder — 1 Teaspoon dissolved into 1/4 cup boiling water This is not essential, vegetable stock would also work fine
You will need a frying pan to cook the hash and another small pan to toast the sunflower seeds.
Method
Roughly chop the sprouts and onion.
Finely chop the garlic.
Heat the oil in a frying pan, add in the garlic and onion and saute until golden.
Next add the stock, sprouts, salt, pepper and continue to saute for around 5–7 minutes or until the sprouts are tender, being careful not to overcook.
While you are cooking the sprouts add your sunflower seeds to your other pan and toss them on high heat until they are toasted. You don’t need to use any oil for this, but you will need to keep a close eye as it doesn’t take long.
Spoon the sprout hash into bowls and top with the coconut bacon and a sprinkling of toasted sunflower seeds.
Sprouts will never be the same again!
