Recipes for those fresh brussels sprouts

You can tailor this dish by using your favorite ingredients. Try substituting red onions, fresh thyme leaves, mustard seeds, poppy seeds or a few squirts of lemon or lime juice.

18 to 24 fresh brussels sprouts

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 Vidalia or large yellow onion, chopped

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Rinse the brussels sprouts and trim the bottoms. Cut the sprouts through the core in half or in quarters. Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the sprouts, onion and salt and pepper to taste. Cook, covered, for 3 minutes, stirring the vegetables once or twice. Remove the cover and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring as needed, or until the sprouts are tender.

Adapted from “Hip Kosher: 175 Easy-to-Prepare Recipes for Today’s Kosher Cooks” by Ronnie Fein (Da Capo Press, $16.95 paperback)

Per serving: 110 calories (percent of calories from fat, 81), 1 gram protein, 4 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 10 grams fat (1 gram saturated), no cholesterol, 40 milligrams sodium.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts With Dijon, Walnuts and Crisp Crumbs

Hands on: 20-25 minutes Total time: About 1 hour Serves: 6 to 8

The roasted brussels sprouts pack plenty of flavor and crunch without the topping. So if you want to save the extra fat and calories, just make the sprouts. This recipe can also be easily halved.

Make-ahead tip: You can fry the crumb topping up to 2 hours before.

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds, toasted lightly and crushed

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided; more to taste

Freshly ground black pepper

2 pounds brussels sprouts, ends trimmed, cut through the core into quarters

1 tablespoon unsalted butter or margarine

1 cup coarse fresh bread crumbs

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Position racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment.

In a large bowl, whisk 1/4 cup olive oil with the mustard, Worcestershire sauce, caraway seeds, 1/2 teaspoon salt and about 10 grinds of pepper. Add the brussels sprouts and toss to thoroughly distribute the mustard mixture. Spread the sprouts in an even layer on the 2 baking sheets.

Roast until the cores of the sprouts are just barely tender and the leaves are browning and crisping a bit, 20 to 25 minutes (if your oven heat is uneven, rotate the pans midway through cooking).

While the sprouts are roasting, make the topping: Line a plate with 2 layers of paper towel. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil with the butter in a medium (10-inch) skillet over medium-high heat. When the butter has stopped foaming, add the bread crumbs all at once; toss to coat with the fat. Reduce the heat to medium, add the walnuts and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring constantly, until the crumbs are browned and slightly crisp and the nuts are golden, 4 to 6 minutes. (The crumbs will start to sound “scratchy” as they get crisp.) Dump the bread crumb mixture onto the paper towels to drain the excess fat.

Transfer the sprouts to a serving bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper, if necessary. Sprinkle the crumbs over the sprouts just before serving.

Adapted from Martha Holmberg’s recipe in “Fine Cooking Annual, Volume 3: A Year of Great Recipes, Tips & Techniques” (Taunton, $34.95)

Per serving (without topping, based on 6): 163 calories (percent of calories from fat, 60), 5 grams protein, 13 grams carbohydrates, 5 grams fiber, 12 grams fat (2 grams saturated), no cholesterol, 340 milligrams sodium.

Per serving (with crisp crumbs, based on 6): 263 calories (percent of calories from fat, 64), 8 grams protein, 18 grams carbohydrates, 6 grams fiber, 20 grams fat (3 grams saturated), 5 milligrams cholesterol, 381 milligrams sodium.

Sweet and Spicy Brussels Sprouts

Hands on: 20 minutes Total time: 50 minutes Serves: 6

3 tablespoons white wine vinegar

3 tablespoons honey

1 cup chicken stock

1 fresh bay leaf

1/2 red onion or Vidalia onion, cut into dice

1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into dice

1 teaspoon mustard seeds or 1 tablespoon honey Dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

11/2 pounds fresh brussels sprouts, stem trimmed and cut through the core into halves or quarters

Celery salt

Black pepper

In a measuring cup, whisk together vinegar, honey and chicken stock. In a skillet with a tight-fitting lid, add stock mixture, bay leaf, onion, bell pepper, mustard seeds or honey Dijon mustard and turmeric and bring to a boil.

Add brussels sprouts to skillet and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil again, then cover and reduce heat. Simmer for 15 minutes, until cooked through. Uncover and cook 5 minutes, until golden. Discard bay leaf before serving.

Adapted from “Rachael Ray’s Big Orange Cookbook” (Clarkson Potter, $24.95 paperback)

Per serving: 105 calories (percent of calories from fat, 5), 4 grams protein, 20 grams carbohydrates, 4 grams fiber, 1 gram fat (trace saturated), no cholesterol, 384 milligrams sodium.