Warm Purple Sprouting and Romanesco Salad with Crispy Caper and Amalfi Lemon Vinaigrette

SEASONAL EASTER SIDE

This is essentially a celebration of brassicas! I love them and purple sprouting broccoli is a top seasonal delight that I really look forward to. However don’t feel beholden to the ingredient list – feel free to mix it up with any that you like or can get hold of – you just want lots of lovely texture and a mixture of shapes for visual interest. Chargrilling the red endive lends a lovely sweetness alongside its otherwise slightly bitter edge. The mustardy dressing and tarragon bring a lovely brightness to the dish that’s great with lamb and feels just right.

There are a couple of processes here but a quick blanch followed by the ice bath really retains the lovely colour and texture of your vegetables. You can do the chopping, blanching, pumpkin seed toasting and make the dressing all well ahead so that it’s just a matter of pulling everything together at the last minute.

Ingredients:

A bunch of purple sprouting broccoli

½ a pale green romanesco cauliflower

½ a white cauliflower

1 hispi cabbage

2 red endives

2 tbs pumpkin seeds

1 tbs capers (small non pareilles if you get can get them)

2 tsp green peppercorn or French mustard

The zest and juice of 1 Amalfi lemon (or 1-2 regular lemons depending on size)

2 tsp honey

1 tbs picked fresh tarragon

1 tbs Greek yogurt

¾ cup best quality extra virgin olive oil (cold pressed and unfiltered if you can get it)

Salt and pepper

A little warm water, to loosen

Equipment:

A large saucepan

A large bowl of iced water

Tongs

A large wide flat serving platter

Method:

Chop your vegetables into nice long uniform shapes – I like to chop the romanesco, white cauliflower, endive and hispi into wedges from root to tip so they hold together
Trim the purple sprouting broccoli and ensure all are about the same thickness – slicing lengthways into any that are very fat
Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and get another bowl of iced water ready next to the hob
Then working from the palest vegetable to the darkest (so as not to stain your caulli!) work through blanching for three minutes at a time and then plunging the vegetables into the iced water to stop the cooking process
There is no need to blanch the red endive (which can just be pan fried from raw) and set all the veg aside
Toast your pumpkin seeds and set aside
Make the dressing by whisking together the following: mutard, honey, lemon juice and zest, tarragon, yogurt, olive oil and salt and pepper with a little warm water if necessary to make a thick but pourable dressing
Fry your capers in a little rapeseed oil till nice and crispy – this can take a little longer than you think! (best not to do this too far in advance as they can lose their crisp edge)
Then once you are ready to go, pre-heat your oven to 120C and warm your serving platter
Get a large heavy based frying pan heating over a medium-high heat and again working in batches, season and start to caramelise all the vegetables, working from largest and most dense first – use the lid to create a bit of steam if necessary
Once each batch is done, transfer them to the serving platter and then put it all back in the oven to keep warm
Once everything is charred and lovely and arranged beautifully on the plate, scatter over the toasted pumpkin seeds, crispy capers, spoon over the dressing and scatter with more fresh tarragon leaves or other soft herbs/microherbs if you happen to have them
Best served warm with the lamb and potatoes with any extra dressing on the side in case anyone wants more