My sister and I were walking through the produce aisle looking at all of the glorious fall ingredients, getting recipe inspiration right and left.
She commented on the multicolored seasonal squash selection while I swooned over the jewel-toned pomegranates. Then, our gazes landed almost simultaneously on the gigantic stalks of fresh Brussels sprouts and I gasped. These beautiful Brussels sprouts instantly found their way into my cart, this week's menu and subsequently became the stars of this week's food column.
To complement the Brussels sprouts, I roasted them with apple chicken sausages, sweet potatoes and onion. I seasoned them generously, then tossed them in extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar -- a lovely medley of salty, savory and naturally sweet.
While the sausages and roasted autumn vegetables stand well on their own, you can take it all to the next level by topping it with a runny sunny-side-up egg. I would happily eat this for breakfast, lunch or dinner on any chilly fall day.
Roasted apple chicken sausages with Brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes and balsamic vinegar
Serves 4
5 apple chicken sausages (12 ounces)
1 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed and sliced in half
1 pound sweet potato, peeled and chopped
1 small yellow onion, large chop
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon good balsamic vinegar, plus more for drizzling
Sunny-side-up eggs (optional)
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line two baking sheets with foil. To a large bowl, add the Brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes and onion. Season with the salt and pepper. Drizzle with the olive oil and balsamic. Toss to evenly coat. Give the sausages a light coat of olive oil as well.
Divide the vegetables and the sausages in a single layer onto the two lined baking sheets. Roast in the oven for 15 minutes. Stir the vegetables and flip the sausages. Return to the oven for another 5-10 minutes or until the vegetables are crisp-tender and caramelized and the sausages are browned and cooked through. Season with salt to taste and drizzle with additional balsamic just prior to serving. If using eggs, place a hot sunny-side-up egg on top of each serving.
Maya Evoy lives in Kenai and blogs about food at alaskafromscratch.com. Have a food question or recipe request? Email maya@alaskafromscratch.com and your inquiry may appear in a future column.