Seasonal Brussels Sprouts Sautéed with Garlic, Cranberries and Almonds

A feast of flavour and colour!

The best companion to our delicious Norwegian Christmas Meatballs which were posted on the blog two days ago, is a generous serving of crisp and flavourful sautéed brussels sprouts with almonds and berries. Such a firework of colour and flavour, and perfectly in tune with the Christmas spirit with its gorgeous vibrant green and reds!

You’ll see these meatballs (called Medisterkake in Norwegian) along with brussels on just about every holiday table throughout the country come the silly season!

In Scandinavia we use fresh lingonberries, which most families pick themselves, but these can be substituted for cranberries.

You’ll need:

About 500 grams of fresh organic brussels sprouts. The smaller sizes will give you a better result
4 cloves of garlic, peel on, lightly crushed
2 tbsp oil for frying
1/4 cut almond flakes
1/4 cup fresh lingonberries or cranberries (you can use dried ones if you don’t have fresh)
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Start by rinsing the brussels sprouts and dabbing them off with a paper towel. Remove the outer leaves from each brussels (keep them), and cut each one in half.
Heat a large pan (medium heat), and add the oil. Once the oil is hot, throw in the brussels halves (not the leaves), along with the garlic cloves. Toss the brussels in the pan every now and then to make sure they fry evenly.
After about 5 minutes you can add the almonds, and when the almonds have gained a lovely golden colour you can trow in the cranberries and the brussels leaves. Keep tossing the lot for another 5 minutes, or until the brussels have got a nice golden crust. You don’t want to over-cook them. They should have a slight crunch to them.
Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve on a nice platter alongside the Norwegian meatballs, as well as some beautiful herb roasted potatoes