Recipe Recruits: Brussel Sprouts with Dates

One of my favorite gifts I received this Christmas (thanks Melissa!) was a cookbook: Radically Simple by Rozanne Gold. Every single recipe makes my mouth water. The combinations are unusual and yet very easy. Tonight I made my first of many things from this book. I cooked Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Dates.

I have always made my brussel sprouts a similar way. I think they are the best when roasted like this. But Gold's addition of chopped dates and parmigiano-reggiano was so good. I think this would win over anyone that claims a dislike of brussel sprouts. And if this recipe is any indication of the goodness of things to come, I highly recommend this cookbook!


We enjoyed our sprouts with a pizza inspired by a recipe I saw a while ago that included ham and ricotta and figs. Since I had dates on hand and no figs in sight, I did a little reinventing and ended up with something I loved.

Here is my recipe:

Thin Crust Pillsbury Pizza Dough (baked off for 6 minutes at 400 degrees)
2 Tablespoons Butter
Thyme
1 large chopped onion
10 pitted dates roughly chopped
1/2 cup chopped ham
1 1/2 cup Ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Saute onions and thyme in the butter over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Set aside and let cool. Top baked crust with Ricotta and spread onion mixture over the top. Scatter with chopped ham and dates and top with Parmigiano and more thyme. Cook for another 8 minutes and serve.