One of my favorite recipes for Thanksgiving has always been Brussels sprouts with maple-mustard sauce, from the now out-of-print Thanksgiving Dinner by Anthony Dias Blue. However, that recipe called for boiling the Brussels sprouts and marinating them in a lot of sauce.  This year I wanted to try roasting them and using the sauce as more of a glaze. The result?  Pure sprout perfection.

These Brussels sprouts are only a tad sweet, since the mustard and lemon juice balance out the maple syrup. In fact, the mustardyness (I know, that’s not a word, but I’m using it anyway) helps this dish cut through the sweetness and richness of the traditional holiday meal. Another thing I love about this dish is that it’s great served at room temperature, so you can cook it a few hours ahead and cut down on your Thanksgiving panic attacks! I’m not the only one who has those, right?

And if you’re a Brussels Sprout hater, scroll down for more healthy Thanksgiving vegetable ideas.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Maple-Mustard Glaze

2 pounds Brussels sprouts, trimmed

1½ tablespoons lemon juice

1 ½ tablespoons Dijon mustard (use a gluten free mustard if you prefer)

1½ tablespoons coarse-ground mustard (use a gluten free mustard if you prefer)

1½ tablespoons maple syrup

3 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste.

Heat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl, whisk the lemon juice, mustards and maple syrup, and add salt and pepper to taste. Gradually whisk in the olive oil.  Add the Brussels sprouts and stir to coat.

Remove with a spoon and place on a large baking sheet, reserving extra sauce from the bottom of the bowl.  Roast until very dark and just tender, about 40 minutes. Toss with remaining sauce and serve hot or at room temperature.

Serves 6

Other Cathy-approved Thanksgiving vegetable recipes you might want to try:

Healthy Green Bean Casserole with Pumpkin Seed Crumble. A lighter take on the traditional green bean casserole (except I’d substitute lowfat milk here)

Spinach with lemon and currants from Sunset magazine. Interesting in that it includes minced lemons – I’ve never seen that before.

Roasted Root Vegetables with Chestnuts and Quince. I was surprised to see this in Redbook magazine, of all places. The combination of beets, quince, chestnuts and other vegetables is unusual and intriguing.

When it comes to Thanksgiving, I’m all about the gravy. Mashed potatoes just wouldn’t be the same without it. I can make a lowfat turkey gravy, but the others at the table want the real (fat) thing, so I’ve started making a separate vegetarian gravy instead. This healthy vegan gravy is as flavorful as the turkey version – maybe even more so – thanks to pureed roasted shallots and garlic and marsala wine (madeira would be a nice substitute.)

I find that a lot of vegan gravy recipes are overwhelmed by too much nutritional yeast, so I’ve just used a tablespoon here to add a subtle poultry-like flavor. I also tried using dried porcini mushrooms in this recipe, but preferred the milder flavor of fresh mushrooms.  I’ve also kept this fairly low in fat per serving. So feel free to pour it onto your mashed potatoes and stuffing with abandon. It’s Thanksgiving, after all!

Vegan Gravy

6 medium shallots, unpeeled
4-6 cloves garlic, unpeeled
3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon olive oil
4 ounces cremini (a.k.a. baby bella) mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
½ cup madeira wine (or dry port or marsala)
2 tablespoons low-sodium tamari
3 cups vegetable stock
1/4 teaspoon ground sage
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon salt, or to taste

Preheat oven to 375. Toss the shallots and garlic with a teaspoon of oil and place in a baking dish. Cover with foil and roast for 40 minutes. Remove garlic, but if shallots are not completely soft, roast for another 15 minutes. Remove from pan and allow to cool, then squeeze the soft insides out of the skin into a food processor. Deglaze the roasting pan with a tablespoon of water or additional marsala and add to the food processor. Puree until smooth. In a large skillet, heat the remaining olive oil over medium heat. Saute mushrooms and thyme until mushrooms are very soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add the marsala and mix well, then whisk in the vegetable broth. Add remaining ingredients, including the pureed shallots and garlic. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Adjust seasoning to taste.

Note: if reheating later, you will need to add additional wine or vegetable broth to thin the gravy out.

Serves 6-8