Gorgeous greens in March’s kitchen

Purple sprouting broccoli is great at this time of the year – something fresh and green instead of parsnips and leeks! It has such a long growing time and a fairly short eating season so we make the most of it while we can! And talk about healthy! Full of Vitamin C, it’s also high in iron, fibre, calcium, B vitamins and is a great antioxidant.

Purple Sprouting Broccoli on toast

Perfect for a quick and tasty lunch – use Ciabatta bread as it’s got a crusty base that holds in the delicious juices!

Serves 2 Takes about 15 minutes

Large knob of butter

2 glugs of olive oil

150g purple sprouting broccoli

1 clove garlic, crushed

Mushrooms for 2, thickly sliced

Salt & pepper

1 small ciabatta loaf

150g Harrogate Blue (or a soft, creamy, blue cheese)

 

• Bring a large pan of water to the boil and add the broccoli. Simmer for about 3-4minutes until just tender. Drain and keep warm.
• Melt the butter in a frying pan and sauté the mushrooms. Add the garlic and some salt and pepper. Cook until the mushrooms start to release their garlicky juices then add in the purple sprouting broccoli and stir to reheat.
• 
• While the mushrooms are cooking slice the ciabatta loaf in half lengthways and brush the top with a good glug of olive oil. Pop the bread under a medium/high grill until lightly toasted. Turn and grill lightly underneath.
• 
• Share the broccoli and mushrooms between the ciabatta toasts, piling the mixture fairly high. Pour over any juices left in the pan. Crumble the cheese on top of the broccoli.
• Put under a medium hot grill until the cheese has melted and run down into the broccoli and mushrooms.
• 
• Serve immediately – for an extra treat add some crisp, smoked, streaky bacon on top.

Quick  tips

• If your PSB is thick stemmed slice it lengthways through the stem – that way the stem will be tender at the same time as the florets.
• Slice the stem diagonally and add some crunch to a stir fry
• Drizzle tender PSB with melted butter, a good squeeze of lemon juice and a little zest. Or top it with a lightly poached egg and let the yolk drizzle over the top.