How to make purple sprouting broccoli with caper sauce, lemon breadcrumbs and burrata

As we begin to approach warmer days, the new season’s vegetables are tentatively beginning to arrive. This beautiful side dish makes use of spring’s purple sprouting broccoli

Green with envy: burrata adds a smooth, creamy element to the plate, but you can leave this out if you don’t want to make your vegan friends jealous (Photos by Julia Platt Leonard)

Purple sprouting broccoli is in the same family as the bog-standard “calabrese” broccoli – no surprise there. But purple sprouting broccoli is more slender, with smaller flowers or florets.

And, good news for people hungry for something other than winter root vegetables this month, it’s now in season.

You can blanch or steam purple sprouting broccoli but I think it does better steamed, so it doesn’t lose its shape and keeps its colour.

Trim the woody ends and, if you have some particularly thick stems, you can peel away a bit of the tough, outer skin, like you’d do with asparagus.

Natural partners for purple sprouting broccoli include lemon and capers, and a hit of garlicky breadcrumbs is a welcome addition.

Burrata is a soft, Italian buffalo-milk cheese with a firm exterior and soft, yielding interior. If you can’t find it, you could use regular mozzarella instead or skip it altogether if you’d like a vegan dish.

(Julia Platt Leonard)

Purple sprouting broccoli with caper sauce, lemon breadcrumbs and burrata

Serves 4 as a side dish

300g purple sprouting broccoli
150g burrata, drained weight

For the breadcrumbs

1 thick slice of sourdough bread, about 50g
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp chopped parsley, plus a bit extra for garnish
1 tbsp chopped chives, plus a bit extra for garnish
Zest of half a lemon
Salt to taste

Caper sauce

1 tbsp capers, drained
1 tsp Dijon mustard
Juice of half a lemon
3-4 tbsp olive oil

To make the breadcrumbs, toast the bread until it’s brown and thoroughly dry. Grind the bread into coarse crumbs. Heat the olive oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and cook for a minute until golden but not brown. Add in the breadcrumbs and coat with the olive oil and garlic. Cook for a minute or two. Remove from the heat, stir in the chopped herbs and lemon zest. Taste and add salt if needed.

To make the caper sauce, chop the capers then mix with the Dijon mustard and lemon juice. Slowly add in the olive oil until you have a pourable sauce – the thickness of single cream. Season with freshly ground pepper.

Trim the woody ends from the purple sprouting broccoli. Steam or blanch for about three minutes, just until done. If there are some pieces that are thicker than others, cook them first for about 30 seconds before adding the slimmer pieces. Remove and drain on paper towels.

Place the broccoli on a serving dish with the burrata. Gently tear the burrata open. Top with the caper sauce then the breadcrumbs and remaining herbs for garnish. Serve hot or at room temperature.

@juliapleonard