Purple sprouting broccoli is in season now, so do buy it quickly – it tends to go out of season around the end of April. My pledge to cook seasonally.
Purple Broccoli & Sprout Gratin
So how am I getting along, since returning to London?
My first 2 big shopping trips were pretty good. The first online, so somethings were a bit of my control. The second in person, and I remembered to check that my veggies were from the UK. I also made an extra effort to choose organic if I could afford it. I’m ashamed to admit that in a moment of drooling I was enticed by a pack of heavily reduced figs (my favourite), not even stopping to think that they are obviously not seasonal or local to the UK in March – from Chile in fact. Of course we are always going to want to eat foods not from our local fields – avocados or almonds imported from California, coconut oil from the tropics is a perfect example – but a 80/20 local/imported rule could be something to aspire to for sure. This is a life long commitment for me, so I’ll make sure to make one positive step towards my goal at a time. Resisting buying berries outside of their season is going to be hard – but they never quite taste as sweet do they?
On to the recipe.
Purple sprouting broccoli is, as you may have guessed, related to traditional tree-looking broccoli. I love that broccoli looks like a tree. Writing that makes me smile because I’ve just had a strong memory of Sunday dinners in the Jones house. Broccoli was always called trees – as in “I’ll have some trees and carrots with my chicken please”. A silly thing my Mum probably made up so that we’d enjoy eating our greens, believing we were eating small trees. I wish I could remember if I believed her. I’m sure I did. I digress…. Purple sprouting broccoli, along with the also seasonal Brussels spouts in in this recipe are cruciferous vegetables. They are both vitamin & mineral loaded, cancer preventative, detoxifying, oestrogen binding super vegetables!
Purple Sprouting Broccoli
Rather than just steam and munch the broccoli as I side I wanted to do something a little more fancy. Perhaps roast then mix into a salad or stir fry with a delicious sauce? Thanks to vegetable expert Hugh Fearnlesy-Whittingstall I happened on a gratin idea, which I have adapted. In my version absent of cream or breadcrumbs, the blanched greens retain a delicate al dente crunch under the umami anchovy garlicky buttery sauce. With crunchy almonds to finish the dish, you’ll never feel shortchanged that there are no breadcrumbs in this gratin. It really turned out into a super seasonal side dish, which I served alongside an oven baked cod loin en papillote.
Purple sprouting broccoli is absolutely right on season now, so do buy it quickly – it tends to go out of season sometime around the end of April.
What would you do with purple broccoli? Does it look like a tree??
- 150g purple sprouting broccoli, rough stems trimmed
- 100g Brussels sprouts, trimmed and sliced lengthways
- ½ Tbs olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
- 2 anchovy fillets
- 1 Tbs butter
- 2 Tbs almond milk
- Salt and pepper
- Steam the broccoli and sprouts until tender - approx 5 mins.
- Meanwhile heat up the grill, and make the sauce. Take a pan and heat the oil on low. Saute the garlic until softened, 3 mins. Add the anchovy fillets and break them up with the back of your wooden spoon till melted into the garlic. Add the butter and when melted add the almond milk. Stir constantly bringing the sauce together and allow it to reduce and thicken. Season.
- When the veggies are done drain and move to a dish suitable for going under the grill. Pour over the sauce.
- Combine the herbs and almonds with a pinch of salt and twist of black pepper and sprinkle over the veggies. Place under the grill until golden brown (approx 5 minutes). Watch like a hawk!
- Serve with main of choice.
This looks absolutely delicious, I’m excited to have found a fellow sprout fan 🙂 Sprouts are for life, not just for Christmas!
Thank you Claire! I couldn’t agree more re sprouts. Have you ever tried them with pancetta? Omg!!
Were the figs any good? I have promptly caved to out of season berry pressure – they just look too gorgeous not to buy. And I did find a box of strawberries that claimed to come from Kent (though they didn’t taste half as delicious as they looked – so something amiss there). Love purple sprouting broccoli – so very taken with this recipe.
PS Loved catching up over lunch today – please let’s do it again very soon x
Unsurprisingly the figs lacked a bit of oomph. That’ll learn me. Berries, are indeed very hard to turn down, I totally get that! So good to meet yesterday, lets def do it again soon! Ceri x
What a delicious recipe! I’ve never used anchovies with broccoli nor Brussels sprouts. Sounds delicious.
Thanks Nancy! Neither had I till I worked on this recipe. Such a subtle pairing, but it really brings out the flavour. Do let me know if you give it a try! Thanks for stopping by!