What you have here started as a sheet pan roast of Brussels sprouts (quartered), plus chunked-up butternut squash (because I had it, it goes, and the color is beautiful), bacon crisped separately, onion bits cooked in bacon fat, and a drizzle of balsamic glaze. Treat yourself to wonderful vegetables like this the next time you have a rotisserie or home-cooked chicken dinner.
How to:
- Preheat oven and sheet pan to 425°F. Quarter Brussels sprouts, chunk up butternut squash if you’ve got it, separately toss in a prep bowl with olive oil and a couple pinches of salt, tumble out onto the HOT pan (be careful) and cook for 25–30 minutes. If my squash chunks are on the larger size, I get them going first, about 10 minutes head start before adding the sprouts. All on the same sheet pan is what I do—one less thing to wash; half a butternut, and 10–12 Brussels sprouts fit on one pan with enough breathing room to caramelize. If you are making more than that, fire up two sheet pans, one for the squash, one for the sprouts.
- While that’s in the oven, cut bacon into ½-inch pieces and crisp in a pan; 4–6 ounces for a sheet pan full of veg serving 4 as a side. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and save the bacon fat for another use, leaving about a tablespoon in the pan. Mini-dice half a small onion and cook in the bacon fat until translucent.
- Balsamic glaze: simmer about a quarter-cup balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan until reduced to about one-third original volume. Drizzle this over the plated vegetables + bacon + onion.
