We go crazy for these things ... overbuying, and often having to throw out the surplus when they get past their best.
There are more than a few things that you can do with a glut of food - the first, and most obvious, is soup; the second, simply celebrate the glut by making up a huge plate of them!
To work ...
Starting with the Brussels sprouts, let's just have a think around what goes well with strong green vegetables. Well, they like something meaty and salty: Chorizo is perfect! Cod goes well with chorizo, so we've got our protein and fat sorted.
Anything else? Well, black pepper, some herbs: chives, in this case, chestnuts, simply because we only have them at Christmas to eat with sprouts and again, buy too many, some mashed potato to bulk out the meal and finally, some chilli over the top because chilli makes everything better.
Method?
Begin by peeling and boiling a couple of large potatoes, one per person.
While they're boiling, cut off the bottoms of the sprouts and remove some of the more bitter outer leaves. There is no need to mark an X in the bottom of each - this serves no purpose in my mind, if anything leaving the sprouts too cooked. We want crunch!
Over the sprouts, steam some cod.
In a large skillet, begin with some goose fat (which is also something which seems to be bought only at Christmas, but I will be continuing with this as my primary cooking fat since it is both delicious and seriously healthy) ... where was I? Fry off some cubes of chorizo, chopped onion and garlic.
Drop the chestnuts into the skillet and continue to fry the mixture.
Drain the sprouts and add to the skillet.
Drain the potatoes, mash with butter and place a mound in the middle of each bowl.
Flake the fish into the skillet and give the whole lot a good toss through, finally adding in the black pepper and shredded chilli.
Serve out around the mashed potato, garnishing with herbs: chives, here, parsley or coriander would also work very nicely.
