Maple Roasted Brussels Sprouts

I didn’t know how much I liked brussels sprouts until I had these at a elegant dinner at a restaurant, and a few days later I was looking up how to make these myself. And, it turns out it is incredibly simple.

Ingredients (serves six as a side dish):

• 1 1/2 pounds of brussels sprouts
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons of maple syrup
• Optional: 1/2 cup of hazelnuts

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Cut all the brussels sprouts in half. If you can, buy them on the stalk as shown as they stay fresher and I think taste better than when they are purchased removed. Cut the stems off and remove any yellow or brown outer leaves. When I bring these home from the farmers market boy were they a heavy “bouquet” to carry across my arm as I walked up the hill like I was crowned a pageant winner…
   
3. Toss the brussels sprouts with the olive oil, maple syrup, salt, and black pepper- the best way to mix this is honestly by (clean obviously) hand to make sure it is all distributed to all your sprouts.
   
4. On a baking sheet tray that is lined with foil or parchment paper (the tray will get messy from the caramelization process), spread all the brussels sprouts so they are all even and flat.
   
5. Put in the oven and after every 15 minutes, turn over the brussels sprouts to even out the browning. After 45 minutes or so, they should be fork tender. Optionally, you can add hazelnuts in the last 10 minutes to toast them to add some crunch to your brussels  sprouts dish
   

I know I said these could serve six as a side dish, but I have also totally made these as a lazy weekend lunch and eaten these just by themselves too!