Boon-Style Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Last week I spent an amazing extended weekend in Sonoma County. We stayed outside the town of Guerneville on a property right on the Russian River. The four days were spent tasting great wines and great foods throughout the area.

The best lunch we had was at boon eat + drink in downtown Guerneville. Tiny, right on the main strip, the restaurant was hopping. We had heard about Christa Luedtke's amazing flash fried brussel sprouts and had to have an order for the table. They lived up to all the hype, perfectly cooked with an amazing garlicky, lemon dressing that you wanted to sop the remnants of off the plate when the sprouts were gone.

We snooped around online and came up with a pretty good take on this amazing dish. Roasted instead of flash fried, we tossed the dressing on the cooking brussel sprouts right at the end to take a little of the bite out of the garlic. Not as good as the original, but delicious nonetheless, and probably the best we'll get until we return to Guerneville.

Boon-Style Roasted Brussel Sprouts

1 1/2 pounds brussel sprouts (approximately)
1/4 cup olive oil, plus 1-2 Tbsp
Juice of a lemon
1 tsp salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
3 cloves of garlic, minced

- Preheat the oven to 425

- Trim the ends off of the brussel sprouts and slice in half

- On a baking sheet, toss the brussel sprouts with 1-2 Tbsp of olive oil and a dash of salt and pepper. Lay the brussel sprouts cut side down on the sheet and put in the oven.

- Cook for about 7 minutes, then start checking to see if the face down side is carmelizing. Continue cooking until the bottoms are nice and brown

- In the meantime, combine the rest of the ingredients. Just before the brussel sprouts are finished, toss them with the dressing and return to the oven for another 2 minutes (the brussel sprouts don't need to be face down at this point).

- Serve and enjoy!