Super Quick Super Food Side Dish

Grilled Brussel Sprouts & Radishes

I am sure you all remember my very first Super Food Side Dish featuring brussel sprouts; well I am bringing back my favorite Brassica and paring it with another one of my favorites...the radish.  The radish is a relative of the brussel sprout, in fact, they are both part of the mustard family.  Vegetables belonging to the mustard family are called Brassicas or Brassicaceae.  The older name for Brassicas is Crucifers or Cruciferea meaning "cross-bearing" describing the four petals of the mustard flowers resembling a cross on the stem or the stalk of the plant.  It came as no surprise to me at all to learn that these two vegetables are in the same family.  I crave one equally as much as the other and it seems fitting to me that they are both cross-bearing creations sent to us from the Heavens!

This is a really quick and easy side dish to prepare with very few ingredients and since the grilling season is upon us, I decided to cook these on the grill tonight.  Here are the ingredients

1 pound of brussel sprouts, 1 pound of radishes, olive oil, balsamic vinaigrette, 1 clove of garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, sea salt and cracked black pepper.

In a large bowl, combine 1 pound of brussel sprouts, each cut lengthwise 3 or 4 times depending on the size, 1 pound of radishes, each cut in half, two tablespoons of olive, two tablespoons of balsamic vinaigrette, 1 large clove of garlic minced, 1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes, sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste.  Give all of the ingredients a good stir to thoroughly combine.

My Grilling tool

To cook my brussels and radishes on the grill, I am using my new grill Wok. You can find one of these in any kitchen store.  You can also use any kind of vegetable grilling basket or you can go really rustic and make a cooking basket out of tin foil.  Any of these tools will work just fine.

Turn your grill on to medium heat and grill the vegetables, stirring frequently, until both the brussel sprouts and radishes are nicely charred and are fork tender. Remove from the heat and serve them as a meal or with just about any main dish you are serving up.

Call me crazy, and many people do, but I love to serve this side dish in place of french fries or potato chips with a sandwich or a burger.  I adore the earthy and pungent flavors of both of these vegetables. They really compliment each other quite well.  The radish, that usually offers a little bit of a spicy note when eaten raw, can become surprisingly sweet when grilled or sauteed; which is perfect when paired with the nutty flavor of the brussel sprout.  I could go on and on about how much I love this dish but I think I will just let you get to the business of cooking it and trying it for yourself.

Enjoy!