Roasted Sprouts & Mung Bean Salad

Equal quantities of miso paste and honey is the easiest dressing and marinade.  It's the perfect thing to perk up the boring old veg and to make your 5-a-day as good as your lasagna -- ok I may be stretching it a bit far there, but it really does make broccoli, root veg and sprouts taste fantastic. That's right, you too can love sprouts and eat it willingly. 

And if this doesn't convert you sprout-haters, Brian Turner has them battered, deep-fried and served with a "tomato tartare".  The "tartare" is passata and mayonnaise, cheeky man trying to make it sound healthier.  I mean the recipe probably reduces the nutritional value of sprouts.  It probably just gives you negative nutritional points and you're better off not eating sprouts altogether, but hey, baby steps to liking a vegetable you've always hated, right? 

I made these too late in the day -- when I cook for the blog I always try to do so when the lighting is good, and unfortunately these were made at about 4pm and by then the lights have faded and as an amateur photographer I've got no hope.  I try to photoshop and whatnot but.. See, this could've been beautiful.  I brought these to a dinner party with my culinary school peers and only photographed it then in the evening actually (and with my iPhone).  Look, beautiful wooden table, beautiful serving plate, beautiful vegetables but not a beautiful photo.  Actually, squint -- squint and imagine it in high definition, then it's not bad. 


Serves 4 as a side
Ingredients
500g Brussels Sprouts, cut in half
2 tbsp brown miso paste
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp vegetable oil
3 sprigs spring onion
a bunch of coriander
1/4 cup mung beans

Method
Preheat oven to 180C.

Put the miso paste, honey and oil in a small pan to melt.  Toss with brussels sprouts, making sure that everything is coated.  Spread on a baking tray and put it in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until charred and tender.

Meanwhile, cook the mung beans in cold water, bring it up to the boil and simmer for about 20 minutes or until tender. 

Finely slice the spring onion and finely chop the coriander leaves. 

Mix the brussel sprouts with the spring onion, drained mung beans and half the coriander leaves, reserving the rest for garnish.