Sodding Brussel(s) Sprouts Recipe...This One has Become a Favorite

Some people say brussels sprouts and others brussel sprouts. However you spell it, brussel without the 's' makes for an easier pronunciation. In our house, it''s always referred to as the Sodding Brussel Sprouts because every single year I cannot find the recipe until I send an email to my dear friend in Milwaukee (Elissa) and ask her to find hers and send it to me (for at least the fifth time), generally on Thanksgiving Day Eve. I'm sharing this recipe to honor the fact that I found it. Of course it wasn't in my recipe folder, but in the restaurant folder. Misfiled or not, I found it!

Some of us have brussel sprouts every Thanksgiving, and some people don't like to even be in the same house where a sprout has been cooked in the last week. We're the former. We like small, round, green things. So, here's a recipe for every person who has ever said, "I hate brussel sprouts." I assure you, if you don't like these, you're a philistine.

This is for four...we generally have to at least treble this recipe since even the brussel sprouts haters will eat it.

Brussel Sprouts Leaves cooked with Pancetta and Mirepoix

1 lb. brussel sprouts
2 tbsp. rendered duck fat or olive oil
Mirepoix (dice one small carrot (2 oz or so), 1/2 large stalk of celery (2 oz) and 1/2 yellow onion (3 oz or so)
2 oz. pancetta, thinly sliced, diced
1/3 cup water
1/2 tsp salt
freshly ground white pepper
white wine vinegar

Working with one sprout at a time, remove as many of the outer leaves of each sprout until you reach those firmly attached to the core. Trim the stem end, freeing more leaves and repeat until you reach the dense center. Slice the center thin.

Warm the olive oil or duck fat in a six-quart non-corroding saucepan. Add the mirepoix and pancetta and cook over medium heat for 6-8 minutes, without browning the vegetables, until they have softened. Add the water and the Brussel sprouts leaves, sprinkle with the salt and stir well to combine. Cover the pan and cook 15-20 minutes, stirring every so often until the leaves are tender. Season the leaves with freshly ground pepper, correct for salt and add a dash of vinegar. Serve while the color is still vivid...this is not a dish to make ahead of time. Do the prep earlier, but cook just before serving. It's a good thing to cook while the turkey is being sliced.