When we were kids and sprouts appeared at the table on a Sunday, my great-uncle – who ate with us every week – would always say the same thing: “Who made a balls of the cabbage?” It was a good joke and he was a good priest.
I love sprouts. I always have. If you do too, this is a side salad for you.
First, shave your sprouts. Cut off the base and discard, then slice the sprouts in half down the middle, from top to bottom. Lay on the cut side and slice as thinly as you can. Repeat until you have a pile of shaved sprouts equal to the amount of shaved sprouts you and your guests will eat.
Toss your sprouts into a bowl, and add salt, pepper, good olive oil, grated parmesan, and lemon juice. The dressing will help take away any rawness. Keep tossing, keep tasting. When it’s starting to taste good, halve a pomegranate and use your preferred method to add plenty of its seeds to the salad. The trick I learnt is to make a claw facing upward out of your non-dominant hand, place the half-pomegranate cut side down in that hand, keeping your fingers spread, and then hammer the back of the pomegranate with a wooden spoon or a rolling pin so it ejects the seeds and no small amount of juice into the bowl. Toss again, taste, and top with thin parmesan shavings to finish.
You can add toasted nuts (walnuts or pecans are ideal here) if you have them. This recipe is inspired by this salad, which we ate a few winters ago and which I fell for straight away. The original had pecans, I think, and dried cranberries instead of pomegranates: this works too. I’ve had it with slow-roast lamb shoulder, with pizza, alongside a steak – it’s a big dinner’s best friend. And whatever your sprout views, I promise it’s delicious. Let me know if you try it!
Lastly. A couple of months ago, I filmed a history documentary, and it went out for the first time on BBC 4 TV last night. You can watch it on iPlayer here. Apparently I do a lot of eating and drinking over a half-hour on a topic that has absolutely nothing to do with food.