By Samin Nosrat
- Total Time
- About 45 minutes
- Rating
- 4(332)
- Notes
- Read community notes
This recipe is inspired by sarde in saor, a classic Venetian dish of fried sardines topped with sautéed onions, pine nuts, saffron and wine-soaked raisins balanced with a little sugar and vinegar. The saor, or sweet and sour topping, makes an ideal accompaniment to roasted brussels sprouts — served either hot or at room temperature — though it would work equally well on any vegetable side, be it green beans, cauliflower or broccoli. With lemon, vinegar and wine among its ingredients, this dish brings a welcome vividness to the Thanksgiving table — or any meal — where bright, acidic offerings are few and far between.
Featured in: How to Make Your Thanksgiving Dinner Less Boring
Learn: How to Cook Brussels Sprouts
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Ingredients
Yield:6 to 8 servings
- ½cup golden raisins
- ½cup dry white wine
- 2½pounds trimmed, halved brussels sprouts (from about 3 pounds whole)
- 10tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Fine sea salt
- 2medium yellow onions, thinly sliced
- Scant ¼ teaspoon saffron
- ⅓cup pine nuts
- 2tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
- 1tablespoon granulated sugar
- Black pepper
- 1tablespoon finely chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
- ½lemon
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
309 calories; 21 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 13 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 26 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams dietary fiber; 12 grams sugars; 6 grams protein; 531 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place racks at middle lower and middle upper positions. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
Step
2
In a small bowl, combine raisins and wine. Set aside to soak.
Step
3
In a large bowl, gently toss brussels sprouts with 4 tablespoons oil to coat. Season with ½ teaspoon salt. Spread out sprouts onto prepared baking sheets, and roast until tender throughout and golden brown on the outside, 28 to 32 minutes. Halfway through cooking, rotate pans, switch their positions, and use a thin metal spatula to turn the sprouts so that they brown evenly on both sides.
Step
4
In the meantime, set a 12-inch nonreactive skillet over medium-high heat and add 3 tablespoons oil. When it shimmers, add onions, a generous pinch of salt and the saffron, crushing the threads with your fingers as you add them. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are tender and just beginning to brown, 16 to 18 minutes.
Step
5
Spread the pine nuts onto a small baking sheet and toast in the oven until lightly golden, 3 to 4 minutes. (Set a timer to prevent burning!)
Step
6
When the onions are done, add raisins and wine, pine nuts, vinegar, sugar, a few cracks of pepper, parsley, a generous pinch of salt and remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil. Bring to a simmer and remove from heat. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed: This mixture should be sweet, bright and perk up your palate.
Step
7
To serve, mound half of the warm or room-temperature brussels sprouts on a platter and dress with half of the saor mixture and a generous squeeze of lemon. Continue with remaining sprouts, saor mixture and another squeeze of lemon. Serve warm or at room temperature. Cover and refrigerate leftovers, which will keep for up to 5 days.
Ratings
4
out of 5
332
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Cooking Notes
Richard from Philly
Re: Saffron substitutes - 1/4 tsp. Turmeric with 1/2 tsp. paprika will give you the right color and texture and be in the ballpark for similar flavor.
Zari Fakiri
How far in advance could I make this dish?
Kris
Is there any substitute for saffron? It's horribly expensive and unattainable locally.
Diana
Costco sells approximately affordable high-quality saffron. They own their own saffron growing farm somewhere; all production goes to their stores. That said, I'd still reserve it for places where it can really be tasted, like risotto milanese. BTW, Costco treats workers well. per 3rd party reports, & when I got to know employees who'd speak frankly, they said the same thing. (One said it was a "relief".) I prefer supporting small biz, but otherwise shop Costco & avoid that other behemoth
Imaginative
I suspect if you simply omitted the saffron the recipe would work pretty well anyway
Artlm
Yes, saffron is vey expensive (if it’s cheap, its fake), but saffron crocuses are beautiful, easy to grow, perennial flowers and it doesn’t take all that many to get 1/4 tsp. Plant late summer - they flower in as little as 4 weeks and plucking the threads is quick.
Amy
Nicely balanced sweet and sour treatment for roasted Brussels sprouts! I didn’t feel the saffron was noticeable since most of the flavor came from the sautéed onion and gently zippy sauce.
Ellen S
I made this two days before Thanksgiving, following the recipe exactly, served it hot (microwave, a great invention). There was none leftover, but would have been good in a cold turkey sandwich. A slight crunch in the sprouts is a plus, and the beautiful combination of subtle flavors amazing. There is no substitute for saffron. Don't sully this beautiful dish with turmeric or any other pretender.
Darcy Falk
I think this is the best thing I've ever cooked. Ever. Truly.
Teri
You probably could, but I found browning the brussels sprouts in the oven far better. To me, there was more control and the sprouts were browned more evenly and were crunchy on the outside and delightfully sweet and soft on the inside
Russ
This was delicious. Made the sauce a day ahead, warmed it back up, and used it with roasted cauliflower. Maybe even better on day 2.
Annabelle S.
Wow, this is delicious! I added a bunch of kale and a cup of cooked farro but otherwise made exactly as written and it is the best dinner!
Claire Gunter
I made this exactly as written for Thanksgiving and got a little side eye because it wasn't traditional. But, the flavors were AMAZING and went so well with lamb. On my plate, it acted like cranberry relish: sweet and tart. The leftovers are wonderful, especially heated up on a roasted turkey sandwich. Toast and butter the bread. Delish!
jmack
Two of my favorite foods! Brussel sprouts and caramelly onions. i really wanted to love this. But so sad, the roasted sprouts ended up a little soggy once I added the onions. Nothing really stood out, it was kind of a smooshy mess. Back to roasted sprouts which are really hard to improve on.
JP
The wine was overpowering for me in this recipe. Traditional saor has vinegar in it, so maybe that is what was missing. Perhaps less wine and more vinegar? I don't know. But something was off for me. Also, I'd likely cook the Brussels without the parchment to make them brown a little better. They were a tad mushy.
kate
Made exactly as written. It was so good I wanted to keep eating it forever.
Glad I Tried This One Finally
Delicious! I've had this recipe on my list to-do, and finally got around to making it last night after seeing Darcy's comment "I think this is the best thing I've ever cooked."...I wasn't waiting any longer. Used Vermouth instead of wine (Julia Child says it's ok), dried cranberries, unsalted pistachios, and turmeric. It's a keeper for sure! Peace.
francey
I did not have saffron, and although I am sure it would have went well in this dish, it was still stellar without. One tiny addition: I added crushed red pepper to the agrodolce because I like a wee bit of heat. Really good thanksgiving side, a hit with vegans and nonvegans alike.
Nancy from Arlington
I subbed and dried cranberries for the raisins to make it more festive for Thanksgiving, and I omitted the saffron and did not miss it.
Kris
It was just *fine*... not my flavor palette of choice (not a huge fan of mango salsa, Moroccan, or other savory dishes with raisins without a very salty/meaty component to balance it out) but could really float someone's boat if it is. Used craisins instead of raisins, added lots of salt, just okay.
SLC
I made this as part of Thanksgiving, using green beans instead of Brussels sprouts. It was delicious - no leftovers.
Ellen S
I made this two days before Thanksgiving, following the recipe exactly, served it hot (microwave, a great invention). There was none leftover, but would have been good in a cold turkey sandwich. A slight crunch in the sprouts is a plus, and the beautiful combination of subtle flavors amazing. There is no substitute for saffron. Don't sully this beautiful dish with turmeric or any other pretender.
Donaldo
Just fabulous...even good cold the next day!
Darcy Falk
I think this is the best thing I've ever cooked. Ever. Truly.
Russ
This was delicious. Made the sauce a day ahead, warmed it back up, and used it with roasted cauliflower. Maybe even better on day 2.
jmack
Two of my favorite foods! Brussel sprouts and caramelly onions. i really wanted to love this. But so sad, the roasted sprouts ended up a little soggy once I added the onions. Nothing really stood out, it was kind of a smooshy mess. Back to roasted sprouts which are really hard to improve on.
Viveca
I used chopped dried apricots (the nice dry ones, not the sticky fat ones) and raisins to see which bites were better. The apricots won by a mile.
Claire Gunter
I made this exactly as written for Thanksgiving and got a little side eye because it wasn't traditional. But, the flavors were AMAZING and went so well with lamb. On my plate, it acted like cranberry relish: sweet and tart. The leftovers are wonderful, especially heated up on a roasted turkey sandwich. Toast and butter the bread. Delish!
Lesleer
Disappointed with this. I've made saor before and enjoyed it with fish or zucchini but the sprouts' strong flavor overwhelmed it. The saffron was superfluous too.
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