Almond and Garlic Broccoli by Carina Contini of Contini Restaurants In Edinburgh

Sprouting broccoli warning: I was hooked on sprouting broccoli the first time I tasted it. I was in my early teens and was really getting into cooking. I love chilli but you can easily leave it out if of the recipe if you don’t like too much heat.

Eating seasonal local vegetables benefits our health, our environment, our wallets, our NHS and our local communities. 

It's our job as a parent, as a member of Slow Food and as restauranteur to champion healthy eating and vegetables and fruit have to play a key part in this. The UK-wide Vegetable Summit held yesterday was a great opportunity to talk about this more. The latest YouGov Pol figures show 44% of those surveyed would like more veg when eating out.

 Chefs and restaurateurs need to do more to incorporate the veg we have on our doorstep into our menu's and give people more choice. Vegetables are exciting. If we can learn to cook (and prepare them raw) well they are fabulous and integral parts of a healthy diet.

For more information about the summit and the pledges made on the day visit http://www.nourishscotland.org

Ingredients: Serves 4

100g whole blanched almonds

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

100g sprouting broccoli, thoroughly washed

salt

1 small dried chilli, crushed

1 small garlic clove, peeled

1/2 small unwaxed lemon or 1/2 preserved lemon, very thinly sliced

freshly ground black pepper

Method:

1.    Pan-fry the almonds for a couple of minutes in 1 tbsp olive oil until golden. remove from the oil, roughly crush them and set them aside.

2.    Blanch the well-washed broccoli in boiling salted water for about 5 minutes until tender. Drain and refresh under cold water to help keep the colour fresh and crispness. Drain thoroughly.

3.    Heat a large frying pan with 1 tbsp olive oil. Add the chilli and garlic and when they start to bubble, add the broccoli. Keep moving the pan so the broccoli doesn’t burn or stick. Add the lemon and remaining olive oil and heat through. Add the crushed almonds and remove from the heat. Season with a generous pinch of salt and some black pepper. This is good served hot or cold.

In association with Taste Communications.

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