Elegant Brussels Sprouts with Parmesan and Bacon

Maybe it was her mother's British upbringing, but my mother raised me to be a fan of Brussels sprouts. The adorable little cabbage grows in cooler temperature ranges of 45 to 75°F (7 to 24°C), and are, to the English, a traditional winter vegetable served with a roast dinner, particularly at Christmas. I remember picking them with my mom when I was little, tugging them from their upward spiral around a sturdy stalk and placing them in a basket over my arm. In Ontario, Canada, where I grew up, approximately 1,000 tons are produced each year. The rest of the North American crops are grown right here in California (have I been following the migration of the sprout without my knowledge?) in San Mateo, Santa Cruz, and Monterey, which offer an ideal combination of coastal fog and cool temperatures. It goes without saying that most people do not share my affinity for Brussels sprouts. To perhaps convert a few palates, I've put a tasty and elegant spin on les petits choux.

3 strips bacon, nitrate-free
2 pounds Brussels sprouts (baby) sliced in half
1.5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium white onion
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, loosely shredded
cracked black pepper to taste.
Sea salt in water to steam sprouts

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium pot, steam whole, trimmed Brussels sprouts: cut off the base together with any remaining stem, and discard surface leaves that are loosened by this cut. Place the sprouts in a single layer, covering them in just enough water to cover and boil with sea salt until tender-crisp. (Note: Overcooking releases sulfur compounds which give it an unpleasant smell.) While sprouts are steaming, fry bacon in an iron pan, and gently saute onion until tender. When sprouts are tender, drain and remove from pot and slice in half, length-wise. Remove excess fat from bacon and chop into small pieces. Arrange sprouts in a baking dish, and sprinkle chopped, sauteed onion, bacon, and shredded Parmesan over them. Add pepper to taste, and place in oven until cheese is melted and dish is warmed throughout. Serve immediately. Serves 4-6.

Food Fact! Brussels sprouts (Brassica oleracea) were likely a wild cabbage cultivated in ancient Rome, yet Brussels sprouts as we know them were grown in the 13th century in what is now Belgium. A cruciferous vegetable among the same family that includes cabbage, collard greens, broccoli, and kale, Brussels sprouts are among the most nutritious of leafy vegetables, rich in minerals, fiber, carotene and vitamins A and C. Sprouts are also rich in glucosinolates, particularly sinigrin. At the Institute of Food Research in Norwich, nutritional physiologist Ian Johnson found that sinigrin can suppress the development of precancerous cells that have somehow become damaged, and so may eventually develop into full-blown tumours. As Gail Vines reports in The New Scientist, "Johnson's idea was to see if a dose of sinigrin could protect laboratory rats from cancers of the colon. Sure enough, six weeks after giving just one dose of sinigrin they found that many precancerous cells had been destroyed."