White Sprouting Broccoli
I simply love discovering new ingredients and at my last visit to the Coal Quay Saturday Farmer’s Market I found these little beauties at Caroline Robinson’s stall. She calls them White Heart Broccoli and when I researched this cute vegetable I found out that it is actually a White Sprouting Broccoli. These single stems have small leaves and a tiny heart that looks like a mini cauliflower – the entire stems are edible.
White Sprouting Broccoli, just like its purple cousin, is rich in Vitamin A & C and a good source of calcium – apart from its nutritional benefits, it’s utterly tasty.
As with purple sprouting broccoli, the White Sprouting Broccoli can be steamed, sautéed, roasted or boiled. I wanted to keep the vegetable crunchy, so simply sautéed it with a bit of garlic and roughly chopped hazelnuts. The result was simply delicious – the broccoli had a tender flavour, more delicate as broccoli would normally have and the crunch gave us a wonderful satisfying feel.
I served the White Sprouting Broccoli as part of a food platter with cheese, olives, dates and breads and it was a perfect fit but it will also be delicious as a side dish at dinner.
I haven’t seen the White Sprouting Broccoli anywhere else, so if you like to buy some pop to the Coal Quay Saturday Farmer’s Market in Cornmarket Street in Cork City. The season is short, so don’t wait too long. After looking into growing this type of vegetable I have even more appreciation for it as it takes quite a long time to grow.
