Purple Sprouting Broccoli & Asparagus Salad

I wrote in an earlier post that I'd won a large veggie box in a competition, and it included two vegetables that I don't usually buy - in fact one of them I'd never even tried before. As I had no idea what to do with it I turned to twitter for advice.


I had lots of suggestions of how to cook the Purple Sprouting Broccoli including stir-frying, blanching and tossing in flavoured oil, in a quiche, with a cheesy pasta...the list was endless. One suggestion stuck with me, possibly because there was a visual to tempt me too, from Laura at How To Cook Good Food. The recipe was for a salad with lemon and garlic dressing - it looked so simple yet sounded so tasty.


This is my version of the salad, which I served warm with my Cauliflower and Potato Gratin and leftovers of my Butternut Squash & Courgette Lasagne.


For the dressing I mixed together the zest & juice of a lemon, a teaspoon of Dijon Mustard, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Black Pepper and some slices of garlic that had been marinated in oil and chilli from my local Farm Shop.


I tossed asparagus and slices of red pepper in a small amount of olive oil and fried them on a griddle pan for a few minutes, whilst I quickly blanched the purple sprouting broccoli in boiling water. Once the broccoli was blanched I quickly fried in the hot griddle pan to remove some of the excess water. 


The peppers, asparagus and broccoli was added to a large bowl with some large stuffed olives (also from the Farm Shop) and tossed in the marinade and served immediately with a few shavings of Parmesan on top.


Myself, the husband and Sam all really enjoyed this salad and I'm definitely going to be making it again - thank you Laura for the recipe.

Cauliflower & Potato Gratin

I recently won a large veggie box from Riverford Organics in a competition hosted by Utterly Scrummy. Yesterday the box arrived full of lovely fresh organic veggies including potatoes, carrots, onions, butternut squash, tomatoes, peppers, celery, cabbage, asparagus, cauliflower and purple sprouting broccoli.


Making a cauliflower cheese was one of the obvious things to make with the cauliflower as the kids love it so I decided to combine it with some of the potatoes and make a gratin.


I boiled the potatoes until soft and steamed the cauliflower over them until softened but still with a bite. Meanwhile I made a white sauce using butter, flour and milk, adding some ground black pepper and grated cheese. I had a chunk of Carrot & Onion bread left which I whizzed up to make breadcrumbs. The cauliflower and potato was arranged in a large baking dish and the cheese sauce poured over. I topped with more grated cheese and the breadcrumbs and baked in a 160 degree (C) oven until browned and warmed through.

Later I will be attempting to make something yummy with my purple sprouting broccoli and asparagus.