{Recipe} Balsamic Glazed Crispy Brussels Sprouts

I never thought I would enjoy eating brussels sprouts, let alone attempt to make them. I didn't grow up eating them & I certainly wasn't trying to expand my vegetable palate while in college, the land of pizza, pokey stix (Google them) & McDonalds.  It's only been in the last few years as their popularity  exploded that I've branched out & tried them.  Really, I owe it to my vegetarian bff who ordered them as an appetizer at one of her favorite restaurants & well, I couldn't be rude & not try them.  Now it seems I can't get enough! (Well, when prepared certain ways)  I still think they kinda smell when you first make them...& not in a good way.  Anyways, over Xmas, a few co-workers & I took our boss to a well-known sushi restaurant, Katsuya for lunch. When it came time to order, one of my co-workers said we HAD to order the crispy Brussels sprouts. I was a bit wary, again, we went for sushi, but we ordered them & they were AMAZING! I immediately got online & looked for a copy-cat recipe. And here we are. 

Now, these recipe has taken me a few tries to get it just right. Getting the sprouts crispy is quite the challenge. My 2nd attempt went fairly well until I tried to reheat the leftovers & burned them to a crisp. Well, at least we got one good night.  If you've made these or something similar & have any tips or suggestions, please leave them in the comments section below! Thank you to The Chic Site for the recipe!

Serves: 4
Cook time acc to The Chic Site: 25 mins (that's funny)
Cook time acc to me: 45 mins
How difficult was this? A bit tricky but worth it!

1 lb. Brussels sprouts
1/2 cup sliced scallions
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp honey

Preheat oven to 425. Line baking sheet with tinfoil & set aside.

Using a pairing knife, cut the Brussels sprouts in half.  Then separate the leaves as best you can.

In a large bowl, combine sprouts, scallions, oil, salt, pepper.

Spread out evenly in one layer on prepared baking sheet

 

 



Bake sprouts for approx. 15 mins until crispy brown. It took my sprouts closer to 20 mins.



While the sprouts are baking, it's time to make the sauce.  This part was a bit tricky for me.

In a small sauce pan, combine the balsamic vinegar, soy sauce & honey.  Cook over low-medium heat until it has reduced by half & is syrupy.  This took me a good 20 mins.



Once the sprouts are cooked & your sauce is syrupy, pour sauce over the sprouts until fully coated. 

At this point, my sprouts weren't crispy enough so I put them back in the oven for an additional 5 mins & it seemed to work.