Roasted Purple Sprouting Broccoli with Preserved Lemon

Purple Sprouting Broccoli vs Green Broccoli

I love both of the purple sprouting broccoli and green broccoli as they are both nutritious cruciferous vegetables. In terms of texture, I find that green broccoli is more crisp when it is very fresh, while purple sprouting broccoli is more tender.

Which One is More Nutritious?

While both are rich in vitamins, minerals, and fibre, purple sprouting broccoli may have a slightly higher concentration of anthocyanin antioxidants due to its purple pigmentation, and antioxidants are widely associated with various health benefits.

After adding lemon juice, the purple pigment became much brighter.

Broccoli Fun Facts

The green broccoli we see everyday in supermarket, actually it’s called Calabrese in a gardening context (I learned it here). However, nowadays, broccoli normally refers to the large green head we eat commonly.

And Broccoli, this word, originated from Italian, which means small shoots. The sprouting broccoli (as we see in this blog post), refers to the small clusters of purple or white buds on the tip of a stem.

How to Cook Purple Sprouting Broccoli

First of all, I won’t boil broccoli as vitamin C is water soluble. And you don’t deep-fry it either, right? So, it comes down to steaming, stir-frying or roasting. I tried all 3 methods.

The Best – Roasting

Roasted purple sprouting broccoli with fish and chips.

Curry Boy and I both think the roasted version is the best, since the sprouting broccoli’s flavour was the strongest (See recipe below). Together with the slightly charred florets, it was unbeatable. Perfect as a side dish of fish and chips!

2nd – Steaming

The second place goes to steaming. I first steamed it for 5 mins and brushed it with melting butter, then seasoned with lemon juice, salt and pepper. The stems are tender and overall deliver a mild and delicate flavour.

3rd – Stir-frying

The third comes the stir-fry version. I stir-fried it as usual with some garlic. It was still tasty, but I couldn’t tell why I had to use purple sprouting broccoli instead of the ordinary green broccoli.

Before You Cook: How to Trim Sprouting Broccoli

Trim any woody ends like you do asparagus. For the leaves, I remove all the rough ones and keep those soft and small.
If the stem is too thick, cut it half-lengthways so that it can be cooked faster.
When I prepared them to stir-fry, I cut them into shorter lengths and found out the inner white parts were tough fibre (see picture above). Anyway, I ate it without any problems, but kids and people picky may not like it.

Ingredients

Serves: 2

200 g purple sprouting broccoli
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ banana shallot, finely diced
1 tbsp preserved lemon (flesh and rind), finely diced
pinch of salt
vegetable oil

How to Make Roasted Purple Sprouting Broccoli with Preserved Lemon

Preheat oven to 200ºC / 180ºC fan mode.
Trim the woody ends and rough leaves of the sprouting broccoli. Make a cut at the end if it’s too thick.
Place parchment paper on a baking tray, and put the broccoli onto it. Mix well with the shallots, garlic, preserved lemon, salt and oil. Roast for 12-15 minutes.