Purple sprouting broccoli with chorizo on sourdough toast

Caroline Barty, House & Garden UK

Purple sprouting broccoli with chorizo on sourdough toast

Ingredients

12-18 cooking chorizo sausages, or spicy pork sausages, halved

750g purple sprouting broccoli

125ml extra-virgin olive oil

3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1tsp dried chilli flakes

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

To serve:

Toasted sourdough

Method

This takes only 20 minutes to cook, turning broccoli into a richer, more interesting version of itself. It is good served on toasted sourdough, or tossed through pasta, with a generous grating of pecorino or Parmesan. If you can't get purple sprouting, use common (calabrese) broccoli. You can buy good cooking chorizo at Brindisa and good butchers.

Heat the oven to 220˚C/fan oven 200˚C/mark 7, or the grill to medium-high. Roast or grill the sausages for 15-20 minutes, turning occasionally, until cooked.

Cut the florets off the broccoli. Thinly slice the stalks into 0.5cm-wide slices (if the stalks are thicker than a finger, slice them in half lengthways first). Roughly chop the leaves.

Bring a large pan of well-salted water to the boil. Add the broccoli, including stalks and leaves. Boil for 7-10 minutes, until completely tender. Scoop out a large mug of the cooking water, then drain the broccoli.

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan or flameproof casserole over a low-medium heat. Add the garlic and chilli and fry gently for 2-3 minutes to just infuse the oil; be careful not to let the garlic brown.

Add the broccoli to the pan with a generous pinch of salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Increase the heat to medium and fry for 10 minutes, stirring often and adding the odd tablespoon of reserved cooking water. You're aiming for a soft,almost mashed texture - but not quite a purée. Keep warm, adding more cooking water if needed, until ready to serve. Stir through the lemon zest.

Serve the broccoli and sausages with the sourdough toast - drizzle the toast with olive oil and, if you like garlic, rub it first with a raw garlic clove.

Feature Image: Jonathan Gregson | Food styling and preparation: Rosie Reynolds | Prop styling: Joanna Harris