There was a young sprout from Brussels...

Polled as the most hated vegetable in the UK, the poor Brussels sprout seems to be as popular as a plate full of raw offal. Apologies to those who feel that raw offal is appealing.

I must admit, I've never craved these mutant cabbages. If they're served up to me I'll politely eat them, but I can honestly say they have never created a "taste sensation" worthy of remembering.

I'm not sure if it is the smell of them, the texture, or the bitter flavour that I've endured in the past that make these cute little fellas so offputting.

There is no way that I could even bribe, cajole, coax, or trick (sneakily poke one under the mashed potato) my family into eating them....eeeeewwww. I've managed to successfully serve steamed zucchini to my husband, after 25 years, without having to listen to the barrage of "why eat this stuff? It's tasteless", but when I showed him the packet of adorable baby sprouts, he emphatically "drew the line in the sand" and shouted "I'm not eating them". He was like a 3 year old, and it visibly upset him that I was going to force him to eat his sprouts. So after a 30 minute heated "discussion" on the foods he disliked when I married him which he now eats, the sprouts were sitting on the bench, developing an even bigger inferiority complex than they had before.

So it was Brussels sprouts for one that night.

This is my entry for this Weekend's Herb Blogging event #94, hosted this week by the creator, Kalyn, from Kalyn's Kitchen.

I wanted to keep the flavour simple, and not mask it with bacon, or onion or some type of sauce. To maintain the bright green colour of the sprouts, boil in plenty of water with the lid off, for no more than 8 minutes. This is due to the fact that the chlorophyll in the vegetables react with acids in the cooking water (remember the dull almost opaque sprouts we had to endure as kids?), so lots of water dilutes the acids, and leaving the lid off while boiling allows the acids to disperse.

I simply served mine drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and crumbled feta cheese. I am now a member of the ever increasing "sprout convertee" list. If only I could overcome my loathing for offal!