Brussels Sprouts & Bacon
Shaved Pecorino Romano, seared shaved Brussels sprouts, homemade whole grain mustard sauce, bacon, roasted red peppers, toasted hazelnuts
Recipe
Ingredients: 1 ball of pizza dough flour for dusting olive oil salt & pepper 1 pound Brussels sprouts, a couple layers of outer leaves removed, bottom cores cut off, remaining sprouts shaved (either roughly in a food processor or ideally with a mandoline) 2 teaspoons garlic, minced hunk of Pecorino Romano, shaved 3-4 slices of bacon 2 red bell peppers ~½ cup hazelnuts
For the mustard sauce: ½ cup mayonnaise 2 tablespoons whole grain mustard (we used homemade mustard made from this recipe, but as Ina says, store bought is fine) 1 tablespoon water couple pinches each of salt & pepper
Directions: Preheat your oven to 500° F. Place your bell peppers on a sheet pan and bake them for about a half hour, turning them once or twice during roasting. The skin should be charred and wrinkled.
Take them out and cover them with aluminum foil so that the skins can start to steam themselves off. When they are cool enough to handle, remove the remaining skin, cut out the stem and seeds, and dice the peppers.
Meanwhile, make your sauce by whisking together all the ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside. When your peppers are finished, you can increase the oven temperature to 550° F.
Next, lay your bacon strips out in a pan a couple at a time and turn the stove to medium. They’ll cook best if you don’t preheat the pan ahead of time. Once they’re sizzling and turning brown on one side, turn them over and let them cook for a few minutes on the other side.
When they’re finished, take them out and let them drain and get crispy on a paper towel. Repeat with as many bacon strips as you like, then break them up into bite size pieces.
Next you can toast your hazelnuts. Toast them in a pan over medium heat until they become fragrant and slightly browned, and the shells begin to flake off. Let them cool before using a paper towel to rub off the rest of the skin. Set aside.
For the Brussels sprouts, heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a deep skillet over high heat. When the oil begins to ripple, add the garlic and the shaved Brussels sprouts, and let them sear, untouched, for about 30 seconds.
After 30 seconds, start to stir to prevent the garlic from burning. Add a pinch of salt & pepper and sear, stirring occasionally, for about 4 to 5 minutes, until they start to brown.
Now you can start to prepare your dough, using the instructions on the right. When it has baked for a minute, take it out and brush it lightly with olive oil. Cover the pizza with an even layer of the shaved Pecorino Romano, followed by the seared Brussels sprouts.
Drizzle the mustard sauce over the Brussels sprouts, and top with the toasted hazelnuts, bacon & diced red peppers. Pop it in the oven and bake until the crust is a nice golden brown. Now take it out and enjoy!