Sometimes it just takes one extraordinary dish to revise my opinion of an ingredient. Until I tasted the amazing Brussels sprouts salad at the original Pizza Antica while doing a restaurant review several years ago, I had written off the little cabbage-like sprouts.

All my experience had taught me that they were bitter, smelly and best avoided. Usually boiled before serving, they were the side dish to be skipped in cafeterias and restaurants or pushed aside like so many soggy green ping-pong balls.

But the salad was owner and chef Gordon Drysdale‘s signature dish. Everyone raved about it and you really can’t bypass a signature dish when you’re a reviewer. So I sighed and placed my order, thinking once again that this job wasn’t as easy as everyone else assumed.

The salad that arrived at the table, though, was a revelation. The leaves had been removed one at a time from the sprouts, wilted and tossed with bacon, onions, croutons, boiled eggs and a red wine vinaigrette. The flavors were bright, not stodgy – the faintly bitter sprouts of the leaves playing off the smoky bacon, sweet onions and sharp dressing. The leaves were still a bit crunchy at the base. I was converted on the spot.

Since then, I’ve discovered that sprouts can be impressive in the right hands. They’re terrific roasted, which caramelizes the surface and brings out a pleasant nuttiness. Steaming or braising in broth also produces good results. Just don’t boil them or they’ll turn mushy before they’re cooked through. Overcooked sprouts release a sulphurous smell that have given the vegetable its bad reputation.

This is the best time of year for Brussels sprouts and most of the American crop is grown nearby along California’s fog-cooled central coast. The season runs through January. I buy organic sprouts at a Santa Cruz farmers market from Rodoni Farms, which has been growing the little cruciferae since 1935.

Drysdale’s salad, now served at four Pizza Antica locations in the San Francisco Bay Area, remains my favorite sprouts dish. I asked him to share the recipe and he graciously agreed. It’s a hearty, substantial dish that makes a good fall entree. But it also would be great as a side dish at Thanksgiving.

The preparation is a bit involved, and removing the leaves from the sprouts is tedious, but you can do most of the work in advance and finish the salad at the last minute. I find the job is easier if you cut off the stem flush with the sprout and then carve an inverted cone in the base with a small, sharp paring knife before snapping the leaves off the stalk. Don’t bother with trying to get every last leaf. The tightly furled hearts can be thinly sliced for the salad or reserved for another use.

You’ll need a large pan to sauté the salad. I like to use a 14-inch wok with sides high enough to contain the ingredients as they’re tossed.

Be prepared to be astonished. Who knew Brussels sprouts could be this good?