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...