Tasty Winter Pasta Dish: Fettuccine with Brussels Sprouts and Pine Nuts

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This is a great winter meal! It’s still Winter, right? The brussels sprouts are plentiful and the pasta is, well, always a good idea when it’s cold out. I found this recipe on Epicurious a couple of months ago and we just got around to trying it recently. I changed a few things — added garlic, lemon and red pepper flakes.

Fettuccine with Brussels Sprouts and Pine Nuts
Recipe adapted from Gourmet Magazine

3/4 lb Brussels sprouts, trimmed
1/2 lb dried egg fettuccine
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
3 tbsp pine nuts
1-3 cloves garlic, minced (if they’re huge, use 1 or 2, normal sized, use 2 or 3 — of course, adjust this to your taste, we love garlic, we used 3)
Zest from 1 lemon
Grated Parmesan cheese
Optional: red pepper flakes

Slice Brussels sprouts in a food processor fitted with slicing disk. Or, just slice them manually, with a knife and a cutting board. I opted for that technique. Mostly because I was too lazy to find my slicer disc.

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Cook fettuccine in a pasta pot of boiling salted water (3 tablespoons salt for 6 quarts water) until al dente.

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Meanwhile, heat butter and oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat until foam subsides, then cook pine nuts, stirring, until golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Add Brussels sprouts, lemon zest, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, then sauté over medium-high heat until tender and lightly browned, about 4 minutes.

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Reserve 1/2 cup pasta-cooking water, then drain pasta and add to skillet, tossing with enough reserved water to moisten. Sprinkle with some Parmesan and freshly ground black pepper. Taste and adjust any seasonings. Serve with extra Parmesan cheese on the side.

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I think I like Jamie Oliver’s new show. I saw the winter vegetables one the other day and although I am not a big cabbage fan, I wanted to make everything, even though two of the three dishes were mainly cabbage-based. But he’s very, uh, rustic on this one. The first time I caught it (a couple of weeks ago), he seemed like a cooking woodchuck, dressed like Adam from Northern Exposure… and I like his little theme song at the end too!

And then, right afterwards…it’s Sandra Lee. How is that back-to-back combination even possible without the world imploding upon itself?

6 Replies to “Tasty Winter Pasta Dish: Fettuccine with Brussels Sprouts and Pine Nuts”

  1. Hi….just came across your site, and not only like your “stuff”, but it’s good to see there are other Portland food bloggers out there feeding the obsession. Thanks for sharing!

  2. Hi– I just moved from NYC to Portland have really been enjoying your site.
    I agree with you about Sandra and Jaime. If only Adam from N.E. had a show– now that would have been something to watch!
    I made something similar to this, but roasted the sprouts with pancetta and then squeezed roasted lemon juice and parmesan on at the end with the pasta…..

  3. Oh, thank you! I did a brussel sprout and pasta salad after reading this last week, and everyone really enjoyed it. No more steamed brussel sprouts at our place!

  4. Hey!!! I was googling pasta with brussels sprouts…and what a coincidence, I find the website of my dear former Hotel Elliott wedding music clients! Hope you guys are great and I’m excited to try this recipe out tonight.

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