Purple Sprouting Broccoli

It's been scarce and expensive this winter mainly £6.99 to £8.99 per kilo.

Friends had grown some but it was taking its time maturing and even longer for them to have a surplus.

This morning there was a plastic bag on my doorstep. I was worried that it contained a dogturd left by a disgruntled dietician, but actually it was PSB, of which I just ate an armful along with a bacon-wrapped pheasant. Deelish!

"Similar to asparagus in flavour, cooking method and its short time in season, purple sprouting broccoli is an elegant side veg that isn't fussy what you pair it with. We love it steamed and bunged on a plate with a drizzle of oil: it looks fab (in a rustically wild sort of way) and elevates a simple dinner to restaurant-worthy proportions.

You don't want to buy any old purple sprouting though. Look for dark, deep-coloured, slender stems and avoid any with yellowing, wilted leaves or tiny yellow flowers (yes, they look pretty but it means it's been picked for a while). The younger the better too, so choose the broccoli with tight heads that have a uniform purple-green colour (and don't accidentally buy tenderstem broccoli instead). It does look very similar but purple sprouting has just a touch more flavour.

It's best to eat it straight away, but it's fine to store in the fridge in an airtight bag for 3-4 days. Or freeze the florets individually on a baking tray, then transfer to a freezer bag.

Purple sprouting likes to be cooked lightly to avoid the sogginess and unpleasant smell that comes from overdoing it (it is related to cabbage, after all). Chop off any tough ends, leaving the leaves on the stems, and plunge into fast boiling salted water until just tender. You can also steam for 5 minutes or stir-fry, and it's also pretty delicious eaten raw with baba ganoush or houmous."

Purple sprouting broccoli with cheesy sauce is nice !

Words/picture above (and more) from here
https://thelowcarbdiabetic.blogspot.co.uk/2016/11/purple-sprouting-broccoli-have-you.html

All the best Jan

chris c wrote:It's been scarce and expensive this winter mainly £6.99 to £8.99 per kilo.

Friends had grown some but it was taking its time maturing and even longer for them to have a surplus.

This morning there was a plastic bag on my doorstep. I was worried that it contained a dogturd left by a disgruntled dietician, but actually it was PSB, of which I just ate an armful along with a bacon-wrapped pheasant. Deelish!

You can see I posted above about purple sprouting broccoli !

Yes, it has been more expensive this winter - how nice to find some on your doorstep !

There have been bargains around for the more ordinary green broccoli, we love it, so do the grandchildren I think it's one of their favourite vegetables  

All the best Jan

This was the old fashioned kind like we used to grow when I was young. Some of the commercial stuff is significantly different, bigger heads and fewer of the yummy dark green leaves.

I had some more with liver and bacon and a giant mushroom and I still have some left! Tonight I had some of the ordinary type broccoli just so I don't get bored. Nice to know your grandkids like it, but why am I not surprised? I always liked greens, except for that damn curly kale and the pale cabbage.

The grandkids love to eat ordinary green broccoli, but they are not impressed with kale!
I know a lot of adults who find kale an acquired taste (as my dear dad used to say). For those not too keen on kale it goes well in a Frittata, and you need only use a little  

I'm no gardener but I wonder if PSB is easy to grow?

Has anyone tried?

All the best Jan

AFAICR it is relatively easy to grow but takes up a fair amount of space and attracts hordes of pigeons. Also it has a fairly short season. I'll ask my friends if the current varieties are any different. The bigger leaves can be used as a kale substitute, only edible.