Roasted winter greens with anchovy, chilli & lemon
This is our seasonal take on that delicious Italian classic… you know the one we mean. It has no official name (that we know of) and it’s almost always made with broccoli & orecchiette, and loaded with garlic and lemon zest? Delicious.
Well… Katy and my sister-in-law both loathe sprouts and I love a culinary challenge, particularly one that seeks to flip the perspective on unsexy veg. I’m very pleased to say that they both enjoyed this dish very much indeed.
The two halves of the recipe - a tray roast and an olive oil based sauce - come together over whole grain pasta. It’s healthy comfort food to a tee, and it’s bang in season for the next few months - enjoy.
This recipe serves 4 people.
Recipe for tray roast & pasta:
2 large leeks, topped & tailed and sliced into 2 cm thick rounds
400g sprouts, dirty external leaves removed and halved or quartered, depending on size
6 anchovies
2 tbsp olive oil
Pinch of flakey sea salt
Whole grain pasta sufficient for 4
Recipe for sauce:
2 tbsp olive oil
6 cloves garlic, peeled and finely sliced
2 lemons, zest & juice
1 red chilli, de-seeded and finely chopped
4 anchovies
4 heaped tsps baby capers, drained
Method:
Preheat the oven to 210 degrees fan, or 230 conventional. It’s hot, yes, but we’re looking for great char here to build complex umami flavours.
Prep the leeks and the sprouts, then toss these with 6 anchovies, 2 tbsp olive oil and a pinch of salt. Roast at the top of the preheated oven for 20-22 mins until charred. The anchovies here will crisp and disintegrate into umami nuggets. When roasted like this they’re similar to ‘bacon bits’ which work so well in the final dish; don’t skip these, even if you’re not a big anchovy fan!
Meanwhile, prep the garlic, lemons (into zest and then juice), and chilli.
Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a small saucepan over a very low heat. We aren’t looking to ‘cook out’ these flavours as such, but rather gently infuse the olive oil with their beautiful freshness, heat, and pungency. Add the sliced garlic, red chilli and anchovies first and warm through/ gently saute for 5 mins, then add the capers and lemon zest, stir well then turn off the heat almost immediately. Allow this to cool for 2 minutes before finally adding the lemon juice. And that’s the sauce done!
Cook the pasta as per the packet’s instructions, then drain.
Toss together the warm olive oil sauce, the roasted greens and the cooked pasta. Serve immediately. Katy and I plonked some ricotta on the table and people happily dolloped this on top of their own plates as they wished. A twist of black and a final drizzle of olive oil are a must.
