Gratin de choux de Bruxelles

People in France grow and eat a lot of the cabbage variety called choux de Bruxelles — Brussels  "cabbages" or sprouts. I love them, along with all sorts of cabbages, including kale, collard greens, cauliflower, broccoli, and sauerkraut. I grow some of these varieties in our vegetable garden.

Late yesterday afternoon, I started feeling hungry and wanted to eat something green. Something warm and comforting. I remembered that there was a bag of Brussels sprouts in the freezer. Usually I buy them fresh, but you can always fall back on frozen vegetables when you haven't planned your meals in advance. This made a good supper.

You don't want to cook the sprouts too long, because they start to get a strong flavor rather than a fresh flavor. But you do want the sprouts to be tender. It's a delicate balancing act for a delicate vegetable. I made these into a gratin by cooking some flour and milk into a sauce béchamel. Or sauce à la Béchamel, named after Louis de Béchamel (or Béchameil), a famous gourmet during the time of Louis XIV (17th century).

La béchamel is a white sauce (une sauce blanche) made with milk or cream instead of water or stock. In America, we would make what we call "gravy" the same way, but using broth or meat drippings. For this gratin de choux de Bruxelles, add some grated cheese to the béchamel. Pour some sauce over the cooked sprouts in a baking dish and sprinkle on a little more grated cheese. A grating or pinch of nutmeg in the sauce (don't overdo it) is always good when you are making it with melted cheese.

Jacques Pépin gives this simple recipe for making sauce Béchamel. I think he learned it from his mother.

You can easily make a smaller quantity by using half the butter, flour, and milk.

Adjust the salt and pepper to taste.

6 Tbsp. butter
6 Tbsp. flour
2 U.S. cups milk (475 ml)
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the flour and mix well with a whisk.
Cook for a few seconds and then pour in the cold milk all at once.
Turn the heat up to high and keep stirring until the sauce thickens
and comes to a strong boil (about 2 minutes).
Remove from heat and stir in salt and pepper.