purple-sprouting-broccoli
Purple Sprouting Broccoli with Butter Beans, Pine Nuts, Chilli and Lemon
This recipe is very useful right from early spring through to mid-Autumn when purple sprouting broccoli is in season and tender. By blanching the stems lightly, you can still keep that vibrant, beautiful green and purple colour that makes the dish come alive. You could use almost any brassica in this recipe, like a sweetheart hispi cabbage, or a savoy cabbage, it is so versatile. Try butter beans preserved in their own juice in a jar as they are so much more flavoursome than the tinned varieties preserved in brine.
Serves 4 as a starter
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
You’ll need:
400g purple sprouting broccoli
100g pine nuts, toasted
2 tbsps olive oil for pan frying
2 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 red chilli, de-seeded and finely chopped
Sea salt and pepper
400g cooked butter beans, drained and rinsed
1 unwaxed lemon, the zest removed and the juice squeezed
What to do:
1.Wash and trim the purple sprouting broccoli, discarding any tough parts to the stalks and cutting them into 2 cm pieces. Heat a saucepan of water on the stove, and when the water is boiling, blanch the purple sprouting broccoli for no more than 3 minutes. Drain, and leave to cool on a preparation tray.
2.Toast the pine nuts in a dry, non-stick frying pan. Be very careful not to burn them. The secret is to keep shaking the pan so they do not stick to the bottom and burn.
3.Take a heavy saucepan and heat the oil. Add the finely chopped shallot, garlic and red chilli, along with a pinch of sea salt and some freshly grated black pepper. Soften the vegetables quite gently, adding a small amount of water to help create steam in the pan.
When the vegetables in the pan are soft, add the butter beans, the lemon zest, a little of the lemon juice and the toasted pine nuts. Mix well and fry for 3 minutes. Add the blanched purple sprouting broccoli, mix well, and turn off the heat.
4Serve on a warm platter, with extra lemon juice and a drizzle of olive oil.
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