When Cinco de Mayo came calling, I was trying to figure out fun ways to play with your typical Mexican flavors. We’ve always loved Mexican corn – ya know the grilled corn that’s slathered in spicy mayo and rolled in cotija cheese and served with a wedge of lime – so these Brussels sprouts were given my version of the “elote” treatment.
SHOPPING LIST: 2 lbs. Brussels sprouts, jalapeño, lime, cotija cheese, taco seasoning, coconut oil
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Trim the ends off your Brussels sprouts and then slice each Brussels sprout in half and put all of your cleaned Brussels on a large sheet pan. Slice your entire jalapeño and throw that on the sheet pan too – the roasted jalapeño slices are going to add a subtle, smoky heat!!! Melt 2 tB. of coconut oil and toss your Brussels in the coconut oil and 2 tB. of your taco seasoning – I love the spicy Siete brand buy any taco seasoning will do. Using the taco seasoning INSTANTLY gives your Brussels sprouts those vibrant latin flavors. Roast your Brussels sprouts for 45 minutes or until fork-tender and crispy on the outside.
When your Brussels sprouts are done, remove the zest from your lime. To finish your Brussels sprouts, you are going to garnish them with the juice and zest of the lime and then cover them with 1/2 cup of crumbled cotija cheese. As you can see, I didn’t use a spicy crema here like the traditional corn to keep the dish a bit lighter, but you could TOTALLY toss your Brussels sprouts in a quick, homemade spicy crema (1/2 cup sour cream + 2 tB. of chipotle hot sauce + salt + pepper) and then finish the same way with the lime and cheese.
One key takeaway here that I’d like to emphasize is the use of the taco seasoning here. You could literally do this to ANY vegetable!!! Just using a vibrant spice blend to roast vegetables instead of your usual salt and pepper can be an INSTANT flavor fix. Don’t want to go to the trouble of making this entire dish? Roast vegetables with your taco seasoning and serve the spicy crema as a dipping sauce! As always, we have to balance what’s delicious and what’s EASY!
The Kitchen Koach 