Cuisine – Good for mum

Broccoli is a quintessential healthy food; when you think broccoli you immediately think ‘good for you.’ Broccoli is an edible green plant in the cabbage family with a large, flowering head that is eaten as a vegetable. The name comes from the Italian plural of broccolo, which means ‘the flowering crest of a cabbage’, and is the diminutive form of brocco, meaning small nail or sprout. Broccoli is often boiled or steamed but may also be eaten raw.

Broccoli is easy to grow. Simply grow in seed trays, and plant out at four to six weeks. Space plants 35–50 cm apart. They will be ready to harvest in 10 to 16 weeks. Simply cut the broccoli flower head off with a knife. For those of a more serious gardening disposition, you can companion plant with dwarf beans, beets, celery, cucumber, onions, marigold, nasturtium, rhubarb and aromatic herbs such as sage, dill, chamomile and oregano.

Broccoli has long been lauded for its health benefits. When in season it is very affordable and very versatile. We love using broccoli raw in salads, but often blanch/steam it so it still keeps its crunch, colour and nutritional value.

Be careful not to overcook broccoli as it will end up limp and quite unappealing. Why not spoil mum with a homemade meal? This recipe is great for breakfast or brunch – go on let mum have a sleep in. TIP: Broccoli stems have a wonderful mild sweet flavour and are much higher in fibre than the florets; they are widely recognised for the amount of extra fibre they can add to your diet. Broccoli stems are often discarded but in fact are very useful. You can add them to bone broth (stock but cooked longer to extract more nutrients from the meat bones) or vegetable stock, use them in soup or chop and add to a stir-fry.

Trish’s Paleo Breakfast Bowl

Serves 2–4
2 heads of broccoli, chopped
4 rashers of bacon, chopped
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 red pepper sliced thinly
1 punnet of cherry tomatoes

To serve
Baby spinach
Poached egg
Avocado
Toasted pinenuts – optional

Method: Heat your oven to 180 degrees. Into an oven dish add all ingredients except baby spinach. Toss and place into a flat oven dish, drizzle with coconut oil (or whatever oil you like to use).

Roast for 10 to 15 minutes. Keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn’t brown too much or overcook. Remove from oven and toss with baby spinach. Portion out into bowls, drizzle with fresh lemon juice and top with a soft poached egg. Sprinkle with toasted pine nuts for some extra crunch and half a sliced avocado.