My husband and I live near Houston in Texas, and we’ve discovered a new restaurant chain, Gino’s East Chicago Deep Dish Pizzeria, that’s recently opened a couple of locations in our area. We love the pizza, but they have one of the most unusual (and delicious) dishes I’ve ever seen listed as an “Appetizer”… They call it Crispy Brussels Sprouts & Pancetta. When looking up their menu through their website, their online title of this dish is “Crispy Brussels Sprouts & Bacon”, however, when we ordered this appetizer a few weeks ago, I assure you it was Pancetta, not bacon. I love Brussels Sprouts anyway, so when I first tasted Gino’s dish, I knew I was in love and I was going to have to see if I could recreate it at home! Here’s my attempt!

Ingredients:

* 2 lbs. Brussels Sprouts, trimmed and halved
* 4 oz. Pancetta, diced
* 1 small yellow onion, diced
* 3-4 cloves garlic, minced (I love garlic. Use less garlic if desired.)
* 3 T. olive oil
* 1 T. unsalted butter
* Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425. In large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add Pancetta and cook until browned. Transfer from skillet, leaving oil and drippings behind, to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Add onion to remaining oil in skillet and cook until tender. Add garlic and cook until fragrant (30-45 seconds). Add Brussels sprouts to skillet and toss to coat. Transfer contents to baking sheet and place in preheated oven until sprouts are tender (30-40 mins). Remove and toss mixture in serving bowl with Pancetta, butter, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm.