Broccoli Early Purple Sprouting

The vegetable that earns its keep when nothing else is cropping. Early Purple Sprouting produces tender purple spears from February through to April, in the depths of the hungry gap when a kitchen garden has almost nothing fresh to offer.

The spears are slender and deep violet against soft grey-green leaves, sweeter and more delicate than the calabrese sold in shops. Cut the central spear first and the plant responds with a long succession of sideshoots over four to six weeks. The purple fades to dark green in the pan, but the flavour and the tenderness do not.

It asks for patience and space in return. Sown in spring, transplanted in summer, standing through autumn and winter, it occupies ground for ten months before you cut anything. Five or six plants is enough for a family. Established plants shrug off minus twelve, so the winter itself is the least of the difficulties — netting against cabbage whites in the summer matters far more.