I¡¯m cheating here, because this isn¡¯t entirely cooked in the oven, but the brief roasting is what helps Brussels sprouts achieve their optimum potential, instead of waterlogging them in a saucepan. I ate a similar dish at Rotisserie Georgette in New York¡ªa restaurant that specializes in roast chicken¡ªthen came straight home and made this. It¡¯s been a regular in my house ever since, and not just at Christmas.

The sauce here is rather like a vegetarian version of the Piedmontese anchovy sauce, bagna cauda (though it¡¯s even more umami-packed). It¡¯s not one of those vegetable recipes that feels like a side dish, where you keep searching for the focus, but has enough different flavors and textures from each vegetable to be layered and surprising.