Explore the world · Recipe · Brussels · Reference page

Brussels sprouts in cheese sauce

Name: Brussels sprouts in cheese sauce
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 800 g fresh Brussels sprouts; 200 g smoked streaky bacon in thick slices (about 0.5 cm), rind removed, cut into strips; 10 g butter for frying the bacon (a knob); salt, pepper and freshly grated nutmeg; 25 g butter; 25 g plain flour; 500 ml cold milk; 150 g grated cheese, for example Emmental; 0.5 piece lemon, juice only, a little to taste

spruitjes in kaassaus

Brussels sprouts boiled until just tender, tossed with crisp smoked bacon and nutmeg, then bound with a lemony Emmental cheese sauce. A Flemish home dish from Jeroen Meus's Dagelijkse kost, served with pork chops and boiled potatoes.

Editorial illustration of the documented recipe; not a photograph of a kitchen-tested result.

Servings: 4
Preparation: 15 min
Cooking: 30 min
Total: 45 min
Difficulty: Easy

Equipment

Large pan of boiling water and a colander
Casserole or wide pan for the sprouts and bacon
Saucepan and balloon whisk for the sauce

Servings4

Ingredients

Sprouts and bacon
800 gfresh Brussels sprouts
200 gsmoked streaky bacon in thick slices (about 0.5 cm), rind removed, cut into strips
10 gbutter for frying the bacon (a knob)Meus says 'a knob'; the weight is our estimate.
salt, pepper and freshly grated nutmeg
Cheese sauce
25 gbutter
25 gplain flour
500 mlcold milk
150 ggrated cheese, for example Emmental
1 lemon, juice only, a little to taste

Shopping list

Method

Bring a pot of water to the boil. Trim the base of each sprout and remove any damaged outer leaves, then cut a fairly deep cross into the base.
Why The cross lets heat reach the dense core, so the sprout cooks evenly without the leaves going soft first.
Boil the sprouts until just tender, about 10 minutes depending on size. Check as they cook.
Why Meus notes they can share the potato pot: add them when the potatoes have boiled about 10 minutes.
Timer · 10 min10:00
Meanwhile, fry the bacon strips in a knob of butter in a casserole over a medium heat until golden and crisp, stirring often.
Drain the sprouts and add them to the bacon. Let them fry gently for a few minutes and season with pepper, a small pinch of salt and some grated nutmeg.
Why The bacon is salty, so salt lightly.
Timer · 3 min3:00
For the sauce, melt the butter over a medium heat, stir in the flour and cook the roux briefly to lose the raw flour taste. Pour in the cold milk and whisk until the sauce binds. Keep it fairly runny.
Why Cold milk into hot roux gives a smooth sauce without lumps.
Take the pan off the heat and whisk in the grated cheese until smooth. Season with a little lemon juice, salt, pepper and plenty of nutmeg.
Why Off the heat the cheese melts without turning grainy or stringy.
Stir part of the sauce through the sprouts and bacon, then decide whether you want more.

To drink & serve with

Meus serves it with a pork chop browned in butter and boiled potatoes.
Gueuze (Oude Geuze)
Editorial suggestion: a sharp gueuze to cut the cheese sauce.

Substitutions

Bacon (vegetarian) → Leave it out and toss the sprouts in butter; add a little more cheese to the sauce.
Emmental → Another melting cheese such as Gruyère or a young Belgian abbey cheese.
Plain flour (gluten-free) → Thicken the milk with cornflour slaked in a little cold milk.

Common mistakes

Overcooking the sprouts: they turn grey and sulphurous. Stop when a knife meets slight resistance.
Making the sauce too thick: it sets into a paste around the sprouts.
Boiling the sauce after the cheese goes in: it can split.

Storage & reheating

Best served at once. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours, eat within 2 days and reheat gently until steaming hot.

Safety

Contains gluten (flour) and milk (butter, milk, cheese).

Allergens

Gluten · Milk

Check labels: stock, bacon and sauces can contain further allergens.

Belgium's famous little cabbages

Jeroen Meus introduces the dish by recalling that 'our famous little cabbages' are known around the world as Brussels sprouts, choux de Bruxelles or spruitkool: some people love them and others have to learn to. His answer for the second group is a classic of the Flemish home kitchen, sprouts with smoked bacon in a cheese sauce, served with a chop and boiled potatoes.

[1]

A cross in the stem and a runny sauce

Meus cuts a deep cross into the base of each sprout so that the core cooks as fast as the leaves, and boils them only until just tender. The cheese sauce is a béchamel made with cold milk, kept loose, finished off the heat with Emmental, lemon and a generous grating of nutmeg. Only part of it goes in at first, so the cook can decide how saucy the dish should be.

[1]

How it connects

Place

origin Brussels In preparation

Style

pairs with Gueuze (Oude Geuze)

Recipe

related Stoemp