Fried Brussels Sprouts at Sides Hardware & Shoes, a Brothers Restaurant
Winter’s Don’t-Miss Dish
Chef Michael Cherney came to Los Olivos to get in touch with ingredients and be closer to where they come from: the farm.
Farms are so important to Chef Cherney that he spent time living on one through World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF). He then escaped city life to slow down here in the Santa Ynez Valley, where he runs the kitchen at what locals just call Sides, and where most everything is sourced locally and fresh.
His dish features the acids of sherry and capers instead of the sprouts’ typical co-star: bacon. At a restaurant known for its house-cured bacon steak, one notices the lack of pork in this dish. Cherney explains: “It’s based on the roasted Brussels sprouts with fish sauce at David Chang’s Momofuku.”
Chef Cherney trims the stem off washed Brussels sprouts and cuts them in half. Then he heats peanut oil in a deep fryer to 350° (grapeseed and cottonseed oils also have a high smoke point but olive oil won’t work). He fries them for 2 minutes or until golden brown, just before they get mushy inside. He removes them and tosses them with sherry vinegar and kosher salt, then finishes them with a handful of capers.
He uses sherry vinegar from Spain, and when it comes to capers, he finds smallest are best. As for the mega popular Brussels sprouts themselves, he says that this tasty winter Brassica can be hard to source locally simply because everyone wants them! Brussels sprouts farming, anyone?
