Truffled Sprouts with Bacon & Chestnuts

This is one way to liven up your sprouts and add a little elegance to your Christmas lunch. The addition of white truffle oil can even bring around some of the most vehement opposers to the virtues of this vegetable...

What you need:

4 cups Brussels sprouts

2 cups chestnuts

4 rashers bacon

2 tbls white truffle oil

Salt & pepper

Method:

Peel your Brussels sprouts and steam them for 6-8 minutes until tender. Set aside.

Fry your bacon in a drop of olive oil. Remove from the pan and slice into strips. Keep the used pan on the side as you will need it later to mix the ingredients.

If you bought whole chestnuts, wipe them with a damp cloth and place them flat side down. Make a cross incision in each one, which will help you peel them later.

Boil them for 15-20 minutes then peel while still warm under the tap. Ensure you remove the brown skin as well as the shell, as this part is quite bitter, Chop them into quarters or you may find they have broken apart anyway while peeling them.

Mix your Brussels sprouts, chestnuts and bacon in the frying pan you used for the bacon, and season to taste with salt & pepper.

Transfer to a serving bowl and drizzle with white truffle oil.

Serves 3-4 as a side dish.