Sunday 13 March 2011

Harvesting Broccoli

Hooray! The long-awaited moment finally arrived - I harvested the first of my Purple Sprouting Broccoli (PSB).



OK, it wasn't a major harvest, but the first picking of any crop is always a little bit special, so this broccoli got the VIP treatment. The "spears" that I harvested were the main central shoots of the two "Rudolph" plants. It is accepted best practice to take the central shoots first because cutting them  (effectively "pinching out" the plant) will encourage the side-shoots to develop better.



Some of you suggested for me some nice ways to cook broccoli, but this is how I cooked it this time:-

I used our Asparagus Kettle for the task. It is a tall thin pan with a removable wire cage inside it.



I filled the pan with water to about a third of its depth, allowing the stalks of the broccoli to boil in the water, whilst the flower part cooks in the steam. This means that the stalk and flowers cook in the same length of time. To aid this I also slit the stalks with a sharp knife.



It only takes literally two or three minutes to cook PSB. Don't overdo it, otherwise the vegetable will go mushy and the flowers will fall apart.

I made a "sauce" to serve with the PSB. I heated up in a small frying-pan some good olive oil, then turned off the heat and added some finely-sliced garlic, which cooked gently in the cooling oil. When the PSB was cooked I arranged it on plates and then poured over the warm oil and garlic, and finished the dish with a generous sprinkling of toasted almonds. You'll notice how the purple colour has changed to green.



Not a very substantial dish, but then it was only a Starter - and it was absolutely yummy! And the best bit is, there is lots more PSB to come...


18 comments:

  1. I have just harvested my first vegetable and it feels good there you have enough for a meal excellent

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  2. Gorgeous veggie! I'll have to try the olive oil sauce. Thanks for the idea!

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  3. Oh how beautiful....lucky lucky you!! The finished product looks absolutely delicious!!

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  4. OK...you have me salivating...dribble, dribble, drool, drool!

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  5. Look very crunchy. Nice fresh harvest. Hope more shoots will grow for more excellent meal.

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  6. Ooooooo yum I've just put in seeds this weekend. How did you keep the dreaded cabbage moth butterly away? They sneak in through the netting and no white eggshells help!

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  7. I am very envious of your harvest. Mine succumbed to a flock of pigeons... will cover this year.

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  8. Deelish. Am determined to successfully grow some this year. And I have the purple sprouting variety too. Didn't know it went green when cooked.

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  9. Lucky you - none for us yet if at all as it suffered over winter

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  10. Ooo the broccoli! How blooming exciting Mark, it feels like a bit of a culmination of sorts!! I'm so glad it was lovely and tasty, and let's hope there is lots more to come in the form of offshoots.

    I'll have to have a look around for some of the purple type for myself, it really is very pretty.

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  11. Hurrah! I'm hoping I'll be doing the same this time next year.

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  12. Homegorwn purple sprouting broccoli. I like it so much mroe than asparagus. I grew some two years ago and funnily they all sprouted in the summer http://allotment2kitchen.blogspot.com/2009/07/psb-in-july-how.html

    By the way the asparagus pot is far more useful for steaming the sprouting broc. than asparagus that keep falling out of the gaps, don't you think?!

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  13. Re the "Asparagus kettle" - yes, I agree with you Mangocheeks; the asparagus does tend to fall through the gaps in the basket. Don't understand why they didn't make the mesh a bit finer!

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  14. Beautiful harvest. I always love purple vegetables.

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  15. I think I'd have a hard time not calling it PBS. Lovely coloration.

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  16. The broccoli is beautiful. I'm envious...I still haven't been able to grown a nice head of broccoli.

    btw...steam is hotter than boiling water. :)

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