Golden-Crusted Brussel Sprouts, from Rob

Golden-Crusted Brussel Sprouts, from Rob
Rob found the recipe at 101cookbooks.com -- these are quite delicious! Gael and Rob first made them in December 2007. BUY SMALL SPROUTS.

The site where he found the recipe notes: "This is the only way to eat brussels sprouts: cut in half and cooked until deliciously tender inside and perfectly brown and crusted on the outside. Use brussels sprouts that are on the small size and tightly closed.You can finish these with many different types of cheese but I tend to go for Parmesan when the weather is good. I trade that in for heaviercheeses like gruyere or Gouda in colder weather. I finished them offwith some toasted hazelnuts the other night - delicious!"

24 small brussels sprouts
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for rubbing
fine-grain sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup grated cheese of your choice

Wash the brussels sprouts well. Trim the stem ends and remove any raggy outer leaves. Cut in half from stem to top and gently rub each half with olive oil, keeping it intact (or if you are lazy just toss them in a bowl with a glug of olive oil).

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in your largest skillet over medium heat. Don't overheat the skillet, or the outsides of the brussels sprouts will cook too quickly. Place the brussels sprouts in the pan flat side down (single-layer), sprinkle with a couple pinches of salt, cover, and cook for roughly 5 minutes; the bottoms of the sprouts should only show a hint of browning.

Cut into or taste one of the sprouts to gauge whether they're tender throughout. If not, cover andcook for a few more minutes.Once just tender, uncover, turn up the heat, and cook until the flatsides are deep brown and caramelized. Use a metal spatula to toss them once or twice to get some browning on the rounded side.

Season with more salt, a few grinds of pepper, and a dusting of grated cheese. While you might be able to get away with keeping a platter of these warm in the oven for a few minutes, they are exponentially tastier if popped in your mouth immediately.