Hello Stranger....

This pretty looking cabbage isn't quite as it seems... It is actually a Brussels sprout top. As its little baby sprouts can attest to:

Brussels sprout tops are not readily available since they are generally considered to be waste products. However, if you are a member of a CSA, and your farm happens to grow sprouts, then I encourage you to ask for the tops. Because of their size, sprout tops are less daunting than a whole cabbage, so they can be used up in one meal. And yet, they do keep incredibly well - almost as well as full-sized cabbages, and definitely longer than actual Brussels sprouts themselves. You may be able to find them at the farmers' market, and some supermarkets in the UK are stocking their shelves with the pretty things.

They have the characteristic sweetness of sprouts, but are less fiddly to prepare: just remove the tough rib, and chop into thing strips. They can be stewed or slow-cooked in a soup, or flashed in a hot pan and mixed into a stir-fry. Add lashings of garlic, a few slivers of chilli, a drizzle of lemon juice, and you will never turn your nose up at a sprout again.

Bon app'!