Braised Brussel Sprouts...and Anything Else

First recipe: vegan, Second: vegetarian, can be made vegan.

Think brussel sprouts are gross and unpalatable? THINK AGAIN! THIS IS NOT HOW WINNERS THINK!

This recipe came my way via my New England chums in an appropriately titled email, "Vegan Soul Food". The original recipe, in its entirety, is as follows:

Garlic Broth-Braised Brussels Sprouts
Yield: 4 servings

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed of stems and cut in half lengthwise
1 cup garlic broth (above)
Coarse sea salt
.25 cup white wine
2 tablespoons minced fresh thyme
White pepper

- Coat a large saute pan with olive oil. Add the Brussels sprouts, arranging them cut side down, making one snug layer. Turn the heat to medium-high and saute until the cut sides are lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the Garlic Broth and 1 teaspoon sea salt. Bring to a boil and stir well. Immediately reduce the temperature to low, cover tightly, and braise for 15 minutes. Add the white wine and the thyme, stir well, cover, and braise 5 minutes more, until the Brussels sprouts are meltingly tender.
- Remove from the heat.
- Season with additional salt and pepper to taste and serve hot.

Sofia’s notes:
I’ve gotten by with a pan that didn’t quite fit all the sprouts in one layer, but they won’t all get brown and you have to be careful to make sure they’re all submerged in the broth. Also be careful if you replace the fresh thyme with ground thyme not to use too much. I think my best results were with a teaspoon or less ground thyme.

And the garlic broth recipe:

Garlic Broth
Yield: about 1.5 quarts

4 whole garlic bulbs, unpeeled, broken up, and smashed with the back of a knife
.5 teaspoon sea salt
9 cups water

- In a large pot over high heat, combine the garlic, salt, and water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, uncovered, for about 1 hour.
- Strain the garlic cloves, pressing down on them to extract all their liquid and discard them.

Since the night I decided to make this I was 1) feeling extremely lazy and 2) only had, like, maybe 2 cloves of garlic total in my entire apartment and wasn't planning on getting more, I decided to improvise quite a bit. My own twist:

Olive oil
Butter (optional, only non-vegan ingredient)
Brussel Sprouts
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup beer of your choice (dark stouts are good for this one IMO)
Some garlic (whatever you have on hand)
Salt
Thyme

Sautee the brussel sprouts until slightly browned in butter and olive oil (I know, I'm a butter fiend...definitely optional of course), and just before you're planning to add the liquid, toss in the garlic and just let it feel the heat a second. Next add in the water, beer, and salt, then stir a bit and let it sit until it comes to a boil.

After it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and cover. Braise for 15 minutes (this is where the recipe is identical to the previous one :) ), add the thyme, braise for 5 more minutes. Take the chance to enjoy the wonderful smells.

Pro-tip: WATCH YOUR TIMING ON THIS. Seriously. The braising time needs to be as exact as you can make it, otherwise it won't turn out as well.

Another Pro-tip: Try making this same recipe with turnips, and other hard root veggies. I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised how soft and delicious these get when braised this way.