Pasta with Purple Sprouting Broccoli, Anchovies and Breaedcrumbs

This is a first for me and this blog in several ways - My first seasonal recipe, the first recipe I have tried from my "Recipes I want to try" section and the first time I have tried purple sprouting broccoli! You'll have to excuse the photo it was the best one from the bunch I took but I'm not happy with it - don't let it put you off this dish.

This is a recipe I found whilst putting together this months whats in season post. I bookmarked it and added it to my "Recipes I want to try" and less than a week later I'm eating it. The recipe is from Silvernutmeg a Lancashire based website selling professional cookware I can only dream of owning. Here is the original recipe and below is the recipe with my minor tweaks. I was a bit apprehensive of whether I would like this dish (mainly as I hate broccoli) but decided to give it a go anyway. I'm glad I did! Every mouthful tastes different, with hints of lemon, chili and salty anchovies coating the breadcrumbs mixed in with the pasta and broccoli.

Serves 2 (go to the original recipe for a recipe for 4 people)

• 150g purple sprouting broccoli, trimmed into heads and stems of around 1-2cm.
• Enough pasta for two, shape of your choice (I used wholemeal penne).
• 35g wholemeal breadcrumbs, toasted in a dry frying pan.
• 1 small clove of garlic, finely chopped.
• 1 dried chili, roughly chopped.
• 2 anchovy fillets,
• squeeze of lemon juice,
• Parmesan and extra virgin olive oil to serve.

1. Boil or steam the broccoli until cooked (the original recipe recommended boiling for 10 minutes but I reduced this to 5-7 minutes).
2. Boil the pasta in another pan until al dente.
3. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan. Once hot add the garlic, anchovies and chili. stir until the anchovies breakdown and a paste forms.
4. Add the breadcrumbs and cook until crisp (you may need to add a little more oil).
5. Drain the broccoli when cooked and add to the bread crumbs mixing well.
6. Drain the pasta and add to the broccoli/breadcrumbs. Add a good squeeze of lemon juice a handful of grated Parmesan and a good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Stir through. Serve with extra Parmesan to top the dish.

Enjoy