Delicious recipe for creamy pasta with purple sprouting broccoli

What a treat. After a series of late nights working, Tom took pity on me and cooked.

Clearly, the recipe (a Nigel slater one) was selected by me and the PSB (purple sprouting broccoli) were harvested by me at the weekend but he DID cook it.

The magic ingredient in the sauce is anchovy. For those who are unsure about this fish just remember it adds a salty quality without being over-bearable fishy.

250g PSB/ young greens
250g pasta
30g butter
2 cloves garlic thinly sliced
4 anchovy fillets chopped
250g creme fraiche
170g gorgonola crumbled

For my liking, I would have reduced the butter and cream content and used low fat cheese to make this more waist and heart healthy.

Sources of great advice

Top tip: Never be afraid to ask. There is generally an expert out there to help.


On Tuesday I visited the RHS. Not Wisley, its gardens in Surrey, nor one of its major shows like Chelsea or Hampton court but the spring plant fair at its headquarters near Victoria. The RHS has 2 large halls there that are swamped on a regular basis by gardening fans.

I was hoping to find a bamboo expert as our new phyllostachis nigra (that's a black bamboo to you and me) is turning crispy. Now, a crispy bamboo might be something you'd like on a Chinese menu but is not a good thing in the garden. Especially not at £20 per plant and you have 6 all gradually crisping up. And yes, I did water them.

Later. But apparently I didn't water them enough. The thinking is that a combination of the stress of being repotted, wind and a very dry February and march have meant that I should have watered them LOADS. They recommended 10 litres per pot and then when that has drained to water them again and to do that weekly. No surprise that the bamboos I saw on someone's roof terrace will only be good for plant supports. Hopefully I have caught it in time.

I also struck gold on the veg front (something that was tougher to find in past years). Finally I found my banana shallots and also picked up 5 tubers of potato ratte which is also elongated but less knobbly and larger than pink fir. I have decided to try to grow horseradish in a pot (a bit of a thug apparently so need to contain it) and bought two replacement wild garlics for the back garden where the shady woodland should suit them.

Purple sprouting broccoli success

Top tip: don't panic - give plants time to perform. Keep picking spears to encourage more shoots.


I needn't have worried. The purple sprouting broccoli is looking magnificent after all. 350g of florets later and I'm a complete fan.

I made a great tart to celebrate.
Ready rolled puff pastry, scored 2cm in from edge
2 onions, finely sliced and fried on a gentle heat until soft
12 spears of PSB
150g creme fraiche
2 egg yolks
50g grated Parmesan
50g grated gruyere

Spread the soft onions in the centre of the puff pastry and cook for 10mins. Scatter on the spears (blanched in boiling water for a minute, rinsed under cold water and drained). Mix the creme fraiche, egg yolks and cheese and spread on top. Cook for another 15mins Et voila!

Spring forward

Top tip: sow potatoes with plenty of soil on each side to retain water well and make earthing up easy later on.

Last night the clocks went forward and our evenings will be lighter for longer.

We defied the weather gods who had predicted clouds and rain and had another glorious weekend. Even though the plants would welcome some rain I relish this early sunshine as it encourages me to get down to the allotment and sow more crops.

This weekend, in went peas kevlon wonder (as a border where the sunflowers were - trouble for later?) and beetroot boltardy - which I persist in despite it not being popular at home as beetroot is amazingly healthy and also trendy in the food world. I also sowed broccoli raab 60 days which I believe is a true broccoli not a calabrese and as the name suggests is fast growing so I fully expect a crop at the end of may. I sowed both the beetroot and broccoli side by side in blocks on land where potatoes used to grow as you should avoid planting brassicas in the same place two years in a row. Oh and I also sowed some salsify next to the shallots - an experiment as they are supposed to have a subtle oyster-like taste. Let's see.

Looking at Bernie's plot, I was mightily impressed by the beautifully piled up mounds of earth where he has planted his potatoes. Slightly concerned though as my potato section is flat as a pancake. Wonder if, once the tops come through I can fake it by adding compost on top?

One hopeful shallot is already peeking through and the broad beans are looking lovely though very immature compared to a neighbour's autumn sown ones.

Sowing seeds in the sun

Top tip: sow tomatoes indoors now to have plants ready to plant out in May.

We have had just over a week of absolutely wonderful weather. Sadly it will return to clouds and average temperatures for the time of 11 degrees. However it was glorious while it lasted. With temperatures hitting 18 degrees It was sheer bliss to doze in the sun and be busy doing nothing.

Spring is such a dynamic time where you can almost see the plants grow. There is a lilac that I cherish and though initially slow to flower now is invariably in flower for my husband, Tom's birthday. I noticed the buds were plumping up a week ago and within a matter of days the purple buds were on show.

In an attempt at spring cleaning I harvested the last cabbage, cavolo Nero and Brussels sprout tops. With them out I turned the earth and weeded afterwards which should be a good foundation for further crops.

The addition of a mini deep fat fryer has not been the wisest choice but it has introduced delicious Jerusalem artichoke chips to the household. You could also do this more healthily by spraying them with oil and roasting them. I also made bubble and squeak using up the last of the brassicas and sprouting potatoes (sprouting in a not good way as opposed to purple s. broccoli). Yummy served with a duck egg and baked beans.

I overcame my sun-induced laziness and some some seeds - a hopeful act imbued with magical qualities. How can these tiny things spring forward and grow to feed us months from now?

When sowing there are some ground rules that provide a great grounding for the future health of your plants.

Use a light weight fine compost. Some people make up their own concoctions but I have to admit I just used a multi purpose compost.

You are also suppose to clean out old trays but, again I was bad and just emptied out the old soil and that was it.

Then just follow the instructions on your seed packet.

Pop them on a window sill. Turn them occasionally so they don't grow wonky trying to find the light.

Keep them watered but don't drown them (avoid mould). Keeping them covered keeps the moisture in an helps germination.

One important thing I will remember after the mystery tomato debacle is proper labelling and record keeping.

To that end this is what I sowed at the weekend:
Tomato gardeners delight
Mangetout with purple flowers
Cosmos
Kale no cover
Calabrese
Asparagus pea

Update- one week later and the calabrese, kale and cosmos are already poking through the soil.

Amazing.

Recovering from hard knocks

I moved the rhubarb and the Swiss chard and they didn't like it. They wilted, withered and sulked.

(The rhubarb had to be moved despite being very happy in the dead zone behind the water butt to make way for a new path - hope it survives).

You should usually cut back large leaves to give plant chance of surviving. This means they can concentrate their efforts on establishing roots not on other matters like photosynthesising through leaves. Unfortunately I was in a hurry and just dumped them in the ground without even a splash of water.

It's easy to forget that plants need care from us if we want the best from them - most often in forms of time, food and water. But also just pay them attention - watch for signs of stress or recovery.

Here's a (rare) philosophical thought - plants are like people. We also can sulk and shrink as we change situations. As we move out of our comfort zone we have to adapt. In that moment of adjustment we can flounder a little and feel pulled in several directions - maintaining showy magnificent leaves while trying to put down roots and find deeper sources of stability and sustenance. Sometimes it's too much to do at once and you flounder.

At times like this, maybe it's a good idea to take a lesson from plants and concentrate your energies into one goal.

Here endeth the lesson.

Seven degrees and sowing

They say that 7 degrees are when things start to germinate (including weeds sadly) but to me it feels colder than last week. Though dry, the winds are bitter.

The period between February/ March when the last of the winter veg are harvested and may when the spring veg start to crop is called the hungry gap. It's clearly a hungry gap for the birds as they've stripped the leaves off some of my brassica seedlings. I hasten to add I won't miss them and they were refugees from other parts of the plot that must have germinated late.

I am preparing a list of what to sow and plant.

In March I want to plant:
Outside - mangetout, potatoes, beetroot, corn salad and winter salad leaves.
Indoors (end of the month) - tomato, courgette. Squash, extra mange tout and broad beans just in case the ones I plant outside don't do well.

The magazines suggest waiting till the end of the month before sowing the tomatoes and squash to avoid them getting leggy.

To come later: French beans

I will also get the salads from supermarkets and plant out as I find lettuce difficult to germinate

PS the purple sprouting brocolli is still not sprouting much more. Lovely leaves though.