Purple sprouting broccoli, creamy green chickpeas & watercress pesto
Second perhaps only to asparagus, purple sprouting broccoli is the seasonal foodie’s favourite time of the year. These fabulous dark green stems are with us for a few short months - from late February to the end of April - and we eat them a lot during that time! “PSB” has a faintly bitter, iron-rich flavour which we love and find to be very versatile.
This is the third recipe in a series of vegcentric Spring favourites that we have written for friends Liebherr - have you cooked our fragrant pea fritters with minty tahini yogurt, or tried our chilled Thai asparagus soup? They are all fresh, green, and bursting with some of the best Spring flavours and ingredients.
Here we’ve made a punchy, peppery watercress pesto - another favourite Spring ingredient - which is stirred through creamy chickpeas and dolloped on top of roasted purple sprouting broccoli, walnuts and lemon. This is incredibly flavoursome and very nourishing at the same time.
Prep time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
This recipe serves 2 people, with some pesto left-over.
Ingredients :
For the watercress pesto:
65 g watercress, stalks and all
30 ml / ⅛ cup extra virgin olive oil
30 g pecorino or parmesan cheese
10 g / ⅛ cup walnuts, lightly toasted
½ clove garlic
½ lemon, juice only
¼ tsp flakey sea salt
For the chickpeas:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 brown onion
2 stalks celery
2 cloves garlic
¼ tsp flaky sea salt
1 tin chickpeas
¼ cup white wine
2 heaped tbsp creme fraiche
2 heaped tbsp watercress pesto
For the tray roast:
10-12 spears purple sprouting broccoli
½ lemon
2 cloves garlic
⅓ (30 g) cup walnuts
2 tbsp olive oil
¼ tsp flakey sea salt
¼ tsp chilli flakes, optional
Method:
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees fan, and have an oven rack near the top.
The watercress pesto.
Mince the garlic first, then whizz everything together in a blender until smooth and glossy; alternatively make this the old school way in a pestle and mortar, then set this to one side.
Prepare the chickpeas.
If your tinned chickpeas feel very firm, rinse them well, cover generously with cold water, and bring them to a gentle simmer over a medium/low heat for 10-20 minutes until they’ve softened further; drain and keep to one side until needed. Fully cooked chickpeas will give a more pleasant overall texture.
Finely dice the onion, finely slice the celery, and peel and finely slice the garlic.
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a small saucepan over a medium heat, and once hot add the onion and celery to sauté.
After 4 minutes add the garlic and sea salt; stir well and continue cooking over a low heat for a further 8 minutes.
Prepare the tray roast.
Halve any stems of broccoli that are large, and chop off the tough bases of the stalks if need be; finely slice the lemon into 6 slices and remove any pips; peel and finely slice the garlic. Toss all ‘tray roast’ ingredients together and roast at the top of the preheated oven for 12-14 minutes.
Back to the chickpeas!
Once the onions etc are looking soft and fully translucent - now approximately 12 minutes in total - add the drained and rinsed chickpeas. Stir well and cook for 2 minutes.
After 2 minutes add the white wine and simmer for 4 minutes, or until the wine has almost entirely evaporated.
Turn off the heat and stir through the crème fraîche and 2 heaped tablespoons of your watercress pesto. Save a little for dolloping on top, or keeping in the fridge where it will last for 1 week in a clean, sealed container.
To serve:
Serve your creamy pesto chickpeas in warmed bowls, and top with the roasted broccoli and lemon, as well as a final dollop of that punchy pesto! Delicious!
