Difficulty Level Easy

My husband came home from the farmers' market with a big bag of Brussels sprouts the other day and I was going to cook them they way I normally do, when I thought I would check through my new cookbook, How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman. He had a recipe for sprouts that was pretty similar to mine, but you finish them in the oven and drizzle a little balsamic vinegar over them.

Anyone who is familiar with Bittman's books knows that at the end of many of the recipes he has variations that you can try. It's a feature that I really like because it opens up the mind to other possibilities rather than slavishly following the recipe as printed. It's especially helpful for beginner cooks. When I checked out the variations of the Brussels sprouts he suggested using raddichio as a substitute. I had some radicchio in my refrigerator so I thought I would cook them together.

I liked the extra dimension that the vinegar gave to the vegetables, but I really loved the radicchio. It was like eating deep fried parsley where it simultaneously explodes and melts on your tongue. If you like bitter flavours, cooking these two together will be a treat. It's very simple and would make a great accompaniment to grilled chicken or fish. My sprouts were quite small so they didn't require a full have hour in the oven. I kept them whole, but if you have large ones you can cut them in half

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