Purple Sprouting Broccoli or PSB is a true gem amongst winter and early spring vegetables. I will show you how to best prepare and cook it so that you get the most out of its delicious flavour.
This year was my first year of growing my own purple sprouting broccoli (PSB) and I must say that the amount I harvested from 4 plants exceeded my expectations.
As I have been blessed with abundance of this gorgeous vegetable, creating a guide on how to best prepare and cook it was the obvious next step.
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🥦 What is purple sprouting broccoli?
Purple sprouting broccoli also known as PSB belongs to brassica family and is a prettier and more slender cousin of well known and loved calabrese broccoli.
Main characteristics of PSB are long tender stems and purple head(s).
When growing PSB you get main, central stem and lots of side shoots with smaller heads all of which are edible together with their leaves.
PSB is available in the UK starting in Nov-Dec through to May.
It is famously known as "an asparagus of the hungry gap" which is the growing period in in the early spring when there is very little to be harvested.
PSB is super delicious if prepared and cooked right but can be somewhat intimidating especially for the novice cooks, hence this guide which I hope you'll find helpful.
🔪 How to prepare it
There are couple of things you want to take into consideration when preparing purple sprouting broccoli for cooking:
- Keep all the pieces relatively equal in size for even cooking.
- Cut off or peel (or both) woody ends as they will spoil your PSB eating experience.
When I'm preparing the main head (crown) of PSB, I usually divide it into more manageable pieces and try and peel the woody membrane on the stalks as pictured below ⬇️.
For long side shoots, I might cut the bottom half of the stalk off and then I usually peel and cook it anyway to prevent waste. ⬇️
Quick Tip: If you don't want to use stalks you can always save them to add to homemade veggie stock.
- Keep and use the leaves as not only are they edible but also really tasty (we are talking smaller leaves attached to the stems, not the huge leaves you saw on the PSB plant in my garden on the photo above).
🧑🍳 How to cook it
There are many different ways you can cook purple sprouting broccoli.
You can boil, steam, stir fry, griddle, roast or even air fry it!
When really young and tender it can be even eaten raw, perhaps with your favourite dip.
⏲️ How long to cook purple sprouting broccoli for?
Boiling
It should take no longer than 3-4 minutes in a pan with salted, boiling water.
Make sure you've prepared your PSB so that you've got roughly equal pieces and that you don't overcrowd the pan as this will slow down cooking process (it's better to cook in batches).
To check whether the broccoli is ready, always check the stalk as it's the thickest part that takes longest to cook.
Steaming
This method will hold more nutrients than boiling but take a fraction longer, approximately 5-6 minutes although with any method timing will depend on the size of the broccoli.
Quick Tip: When boiling or steaming your PSB and not serving it straight away, plunge it in a bowl with ice cold water to stop the cooking process and preserve its colour.
Stir Frying
Fry pieces of PSB in a hot pan or wok with a touch of oil for 4-5 minutes depending on how crunchy or tender you like.
Stir/toss often to ensure even cooking.
When stir frying you might want to use some strong flavouring almost at the start; finely chopped chilli, garlic or ginger will work great here.
Once ready, feel free to season either with salt and pepper or perhaps use your favourite sauce - soya, drizzle of sesame oil, hoisin etc.
Stir fried purple sprouting broccoli goes really well with rice or noodle dishes.
Air Frying
Put prepared and oiled PSB in a single layer in a drawer/basket of your air fryer and cook on "air fry" setting at 180C/350F for 8-10 minutes depending on the size of the pieces and how crispy/soft you like them.
When air frying for the first time, I would suggest checking on the PSB after 3 minutes and giving it a little shake, then checking again at 6 minutes and then 8.
It's just to make sure it's how you like it and that you don't overdo it.
Once done, serve immediately with your choice of seasonings and/or condiments.
Stir frying / Steaming (2 in 1)
I often like to stir fry my broccoli but as kids don't like it very crunchy after couple of minutes of frying I pour in a splash of water, cover the pan and steam until softened (2-3 minutes depending on the size).
I then take off the lid and let any remaining water evaporate and PSB is ready to serve!
♨️ How to roast purple sprouting broccoli
Ingredient quantities & detailed instructions to be found in recipe card at the bottom of the post.
This is by far my favourite method of cooking PSB.
All you need for it is a baking tray and a hot oven (200C/400F/Gas Mark 6).
I like to line my baking tray with baking paper or a silicone mat and add prepared broccoli in a single layer.
Quick Tip: Make sure not to overcrowd the tray. You want to get that nice blistered, crispy veg and not steamed.
Drizzle over some olive oil, season with salt and pepper and get in with your hands. You want to massage the oil and seasoning into the veg so it's evenly covered.
Roast in preheated oven for approx. 8-10 minutes but make sure to watch it carefully as ovens differ and you don't want to burn it.
Feel free to drizzle some extra virgin olive oil or perhaps some lemon juice and/or zest for a bit of acidity and serve as is or use in recipes.
Quick Tip: You might want to add extra flavourings to the tray like chilli or garlic. Do it half way through cooking so after about 4 minutes.
🥡 Storing
Fresh and uncooked purple sprouting broccoli will last in the fridge crisper drawer for up to 4 days but as with all veg, the fresher the better.
Make sure you put it in the fridge as soon as you get it home to prevent it from going limp.
Cooked broccoli can be stored in the fridge for a couple of days and either reheated or eaten cold.
❄️ Freezing
I would recommend freezing only as a last resort as in my opinion PSB will only be truly enjoyed when cooked from fresh.
However, if you'd like to freeze it I would suggest you prepare it first so that it's ready to cook.
Next, blanch it in boiling water for 1-2 minutes, drain and transfer into bowl of ice cold water to stop the cooking process and preserve nutrients.
Drain and let it dry before transferring onto freezer friendly tray to freeze it in a single layer to prevent it from clumping together.
Then, once frozen, you can transfer it into freezer friendly bag for easier storage.
Don't freeze PSB for long, 2-3 months max as prolonged freezing will affect its texture.
There is no need to defrost it, you can cook it from frozen (especially as you would have already prepared it) but remember to adjust cooking time accordingly.
💭 Top tips
- Don't be intimidated by purple sprouting broccoli. It's super delicious and simple to prepare and cook so make the most of its relatively short season and use it a lot!
- When preparing it, keep it equal size.
- Make sure not to overcrowd the pan/tray/pot you're cooking PSB in. It's best to cook in batches.
- Cooking times will depend on the size of your prepared broccoli.
- Don't discard leaves attached to stalks as they're edible and delicious.
- Don't be alarmed when your PSB goes green once cooked but enjoy its lovely purple hue when raw.
- As with any veg really, don't overcook it!
- Purple sprouting broccoli (similar to regular broccoli) is full of goodness so enjoy it as often as you can.
😋 What goes well with purple sprouting broccoli
My favourite flavour enhancers for PSB are the following:
- chillies
- lemon juice and zest
- ginger
- mustard
- capers
- soy sauce
- vegan parmesan
- pan fried breadcrumbs
- extra virgin olive oil
- sesame oil
- sesame seeds
- nuts
🍴 Serving suggestions
Purple sprouting broccoli is a fantastic ingredient in its own right and it makes nutritious, simple side dish either boiled, steamed, stir-fried or roasted with a touch of salt, pepper, lemon juice and good quality olive oil.
Try in on the side of my Quorn chicken pie, vegan tofu fish, or butternut squash mac and cheese.
Cook it gently and drizzle over your favourite dressing or sauce (we love it with wild garlic pesto or salsa verde).
Choose the youngest and most tender shoot and eat them raw with your favourite dip (try my broad bean dip or carrot top pesto) or simple dressing.
Stir it through pasta (check out my PSB and hummus pasta recipe) or add to veggie traybakes (for the last few minutes only).
❓ FAQ
Yes, leaves attached to the stalk of your PSB is edible and delicious. You can either keep it attached to the stalk and cook it as such or take it off and cook separately.
Once cooked, PSB looses its purple colour and turns green.
Yes you can. See Freezing.
I would say tender stem broccoli would work well as a substitute due to its long stem body but using regular calabrese broccoli would be fine as well.
Have you found my How to cook purple sprouting broccoli guide useful?
Please consider giving it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in recipe card below.
📋 Recipe
Roasted Purple Sprouting Broccoli
Ingredients
- 300 g purple sprouting broccoli Prepared by washing, trimming, removing or peeling woody stalks and cutting into roughly equal pieces.
- 2 tablespoon rapeseed or olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- finely chopped chilli, garlic, ginger etc. to flavour
- lemon juice and/or zest to flavour
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6 and line baking tray with some baking paper or oven safe silicone mat.
- Add prepared broccoli to the tray, season it with salt and pepper and drizzle over couple tablespoons of oil.300 g purple sprouting broccoli, salt and pepper, 2 tablespoon rapeseed or olive oil
- Massage the oil and seasoning well onto the broccoli ensuring it all evenly covered.
- Roast in preheated oven, making sure it's in a single layer for 8-10 minutes watching it carefully to prevent it from burning as ovens do differ.
- If you'd like to add some flavourings like garlic, chilli, ginger etc. add them half way through cooking (ensure they're finely chopped) and stir them through the broccoli before returning tray to the oven.finely chopped chilli, garlic, ginger etc.
- Once out of the oven, feel free to drizzle over some lemon juice for a bot of acidity and extra flavour.lemon juice and/or zest
Notes
- Nutritional information is approximate, per serving (based on 4 servings), with oil but without any extra flavourings and should be treated as a rough guideline only.
- Uncooked PSB can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days but the fresher the better. Cooked should be kept in the fridge and eaten within 2 days.
- Freezer friendly - see Freezing.
- Don't be intimidated by purple sprouting broccoli. It's super delicious and simple to prepare and cook so make the most of its relatively short season and use it a lot!
- When preparing it, keep it equal size.
- Make sure not to overcrowd the pan/tray/pot you're cooking PSB in. It's best to cook in batches if need be.
- Cooking times will depend on the size of your prepared broccoli.
- Don't discard leaves attached to stalks as they're edible and delicious.
- Don't be alarmed when your PSB goes green once cooked but enjoy its lovely purple hue when raw.
- As with any veg really, don't overcook it!
- Purple sprouting broccoli (similar to regular broccoli) is full of goodness so enjoy it as often as you can.
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