Happy Monday! How was everyone's weekends? Man, my kitchen was put to USE this weekend.

I was in a bit of a cooking slump for the past few weeks. I was being monotonous and eating the same old boring things every day, without much inspiration to try new stuff. Then a fun little project cropped up and gave me the little kick in the butt I needed to get my hands dirty.

As some of you may have seen on my Instagram, I've been cooking up a major storm this past weekend, and I can't wait to share these recipes with you guys. I've been focusing on local, seasonal produce and with the holidays right around the corner, it was the perfect chance to start planning my Thanksgiving dinner menu. Trainer me has been trying to steer my family's palettes towards nutrient-dense and healthier dishes whenever I am in charge of the food. 

I've already professed my love for a classic roasted brussel sprout, but the holidays definitely call for its dressed up sibling. Last year for Thanksgiving, I made a similar dish to this, but used cranberries instead of pomegranate, bulgur instead of farro, and I didn't have this magical pomegranate-citrus glaze. This new version I have to say trumps the old one by far, and the old one's platter was licked clean at my family's dinner table...

We need to take a second to first appreciate the monstrosity of this giant brussel sprout stalk. No joke, it's more than half my height. I put this in my reusable tote to bring home, but more than half of it was sticking out and I got a lot of stares as I walked down the street with this... It's basically a tree. 

Pomegranates are the gems of the few winter fruits we have. Foods like these make me seriously geek out at how pretty Mother Nature makes things- those ruby red arils are so beautiful and spruce up any dish with their color and juicy tartness. 

While this dish has a lot of fun ingredients, it's actually quite simple to make. The prep is the time-consuming part, but once you have that done, it's pretty quick to cook. I'd suggest this to beginner chefs as their contribution to the Thanksgiving meal- it looks all jazzed up and colorful, but it's secretly easy. 

Roasted Pomegranate Brussel Sprouts w/Feta, Farro, and Pecans with a Pom-Citrus Maple Glaze

*serves 6-8 as a side dish

Ingredients

3 dozen baby Brussel Sprouts, washed/trimmed/halved
1 medium Pomegranate, arils only
1/2 cup Farro, cooked
1/2 cup Feta Cheese, crumbled
3/4 cup Pecan halves
1/4 cup Pomegranate Juice
3 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

For Pomegranate-Citrus Maple Glaze:
1/2 cup Pomegranate Juice
1/4 cup Orange Juice
1 tbsp Pure Maple Syrup
1 tbsp Raw Coconut Sugar

Recipe

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF and line baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. For the glaze (can also be made a day in advance): In a small saucepan, combine pomegranate juice and orange juice over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Add in maple syrup and coconut sugar, and stir until dissolved. Continue to simmer for about 25-30 minutes or until glaze begins to thicken. Remove from heat and set aside.

3. In a large mixing bowl, combine brussel sprouts, pecans, 1/4 cup pomegranate juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Toss well to until sprouts are evenly coated.

4. Spread brussel sprouts across baking sheet and place in oven (you may need to do this in 2 batches). Bake for 15 minutes, then if you want, turn on the broiler for an extra 2 minutes at the end to make sprouts crisper.

5. Remove baking sheet from oven. Transfer brussel sprout mixture over to the mixing bowl. Add in pomegranate arils and farro, and toss to combine. 

6. Plate brussel sprout mixture. Sprinkle feta cheese on top and drizzle the Pom-Citrus Maple glaze on top, and serve!