Lifelong brussels-sprouts haters might be converted by Michael Cirino and Daniel Castaño's side dish, which sautés the vegetables in duck fat and tops them with a blue-cheese foam about as dense as shaving cream.
Step 1. Make the fondue
75g Gorgonzola cheese
210g heavy cream
180g water
30g powdered milk
4g vinegar
4g salt
1g black pepper
5g sugar
2g low-acyl gellan gum
0.5g xanthan gum
Combine water and cream in a blender. With the blender on low speed, add the sugar and gellan. Place in a pot and add the rest of the ingredients — except for the xanthan gum — and bring to a boil.
Return to the blender and puree until smooth. Add xanthan gum and puree for 30 seconds on high. Run through a fine mesh sieve. Add to an iSi cream whipper and charge with two nitrous-oxide chargers.
Step 2. Cook the brussels sprouts
500g brussels sprouts
75g duck fat (or olive oil)
125g green grapes, halved lengthwise
100g Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
Gorgonzola fondue
Dash of balsamic vinegar
kosher salt and black pepper to taste
Peel off outer dark green leaves of the sprouts and discard. Peel off any loose inner green leaves so that the remaining bulb is tightly packed. Rinse and reserve.
Place the duck fat in a sauce pan and bring to a high heat. Sauté the sprouts in the duck fat until lightly browned and starting to crisp. Remove from the pan and place on paper towels. Season liberally.
Put piles of fondue over the sautéed leaves and the raw grapes. Sprinkle a little bit of balsamic vinegar on top. Top with a sprinkle of crumbled cheese.