Cuisine – Spring green

My little garden has produced an abundance of broccoli over the past few months and with the arrival of spring, these plants continue to reward me with fabulous shoots to snip freshly to accompany almost every dinner. Successive plantings every four to six weeks mean it’s likely this abundance will continue right through the warmer weather.

My vegetable garden is not extensive, as I mostly concentrate on herbs, which certainly enliven all savoury cooking. Parsley is a constant, the sage and thyme bushes flourish year round if they’re clipped back, and other herbs regenerate if the plants are left to go to seed at the end of the summer. Right now, dill and fennel are popping up everywhere. I also have lettuces and spinach year round although the Omaha rabbits managed to chomp away at my lettuces until I installed some netting to protect them from the pesky creatures. Luckily they leave the broccoli and spinach well alone!

It’s great to have greens constantly on hand and for those who are not lucky enough to have a warm and fertile growing space, you can always fall back on frozen green vegetables, which are rarely as expensive as fresh vegies, and probably almost as good nutritiously. My husband is a fan of frozen peas and baby garden peas are always found in my freezer. As for the herbs, they flourish in pots both indoors and on a sunny deck space. If you have to buy herbs, always buy the living herbs in little pots. Water them constantly and they can keep on growing for weeks.

As spring takes hold, fresh green vegetables become more affordable and can often become the centre of a meal. I love to make green soup – a wonderful mixture of fresh greens and herbs, and it’s often a way to use up the remaining vegetables that lurk in the fridge. Simmer broccoli, fennel, leeks, spring onion, beans, cauliflower and anything else in some chicken or vegetable stock for no more than 10 minutes until they’re tender and still green (add any spinach or silverbeet near the end of the simmering time or they turn a bit slimy.) Puree these vegetables with a blending stick or in a blender and you will have a lovely fragrant soup. Add a few tablespoons of cream or Greek yogurt to make it extra special.
As for the abundant broccoli, I have cooked and served the following deliciously simple recipe almost every week. Broccoli is truly affordable now in the warmer spring weather, and this dinner has become a real favourite when we want to eat more lightly and have a meatless dinner.

Choosing your pasta shape is important – this works very well with pappardelle, as the thick strands of pasta are an ideal carrier for the lovely sauce created with broccoli and cheese. If you haven’t got pappardelle, use linguine or chunky pasta shapes rather than thin spaghetti, which the sauce won’t cling to very well. As for the cheese, of course you can use good old tasty cheese if that’s all you have on hand, but I prefer to use very good Parmesan ,which I keep constantly in the fridge and always grate freshly for the dish. I have also tried it with a mild goat cheese and that’s really tasty, too.
It’s wonderful three-ingredient dish, really delicious and quick to whip up. I like to finish it with a good glug of extra virgin olive oil, but you can always use butter, which has an affinity with cheese. With pasta in the store cupboard, Parmesan cheese from the fridge and broccoli from the garden, that’s all we need!

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Cheesy Broccoli Pasta

2 cups fresh broccoli sprouts
2 little ‘nests’ pappardelle
3 tbsps good olive oil
1 large cup finely grated Parmesan
Salt and pepper

Keep a few select broccoli florets aside and chop the rest of the stalks, leaves and flowers. Toss into salted boiling water and simmer for about 4 minutes, then add the saved florets to a steamer set over the simmering broccoli. Continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes.
Meanwhile, boil the pasta in salted water according to packet instructions. Drain the pasta well.

Drain the broccoli, but importantly you must keep the water and put the steamed florets aside. Return the broccoli to the pan, add a few spoonfuls of the saved cooking water and zap with a blending stick until smooth. Add a good glug of olive oil and half the grated cheese. Add the pasta to the broccoli sauce and toss together over the heat so all the pasta is well coated. Finally, add the saved steamed florets.

Divide this all between two heated plates or bowls and serve immediately. Hand the remaining cheese to spoon on as liked, and offer extra salt and pepper.

Serves 2