Name: Purple sprouting broccoli with rice noodles
Ingredients: 600g purple-sprouting broccoli; 1 red onion, finely chopped; 1½ tsp palm sugar; 7 kaffir lime leaves; 400ml coconut milk; 450g wide rice noodles; 4 tbsp sesame oil; 3 tbsp lime juice, plus more to finish; 2 tbsp sweet basil, shredded; 75g toasted pistachio nuts, chopped; salt; 2cm piece galangal (or ginger), peeled and chopped; 1 medium green chilli, deseeded and roughly chopped; 1½ lemongrass stalks, outer layer and tough ends removed, chopped; 1 garlic clove, crushed; ½ shallot, peeled and chopped; ½ tbsp coriander seeds, ground; ½ tsp cumin seeds, finely ground; ½ a lime, its grated zest and juice; 2 tbsp vegetable oil, plus extra to sauté the onion; 1 bunch fresh coriander, stalks, roots and all, washed

Purple sprouting broccoli with rice noodles

Main Vegetarian

Serves 6

Yes, there’s a long list of ingredients here, but we're ready to be extra-kind and allow you to adapt the recipe, to use commercial Thai curry paste instead of having to schlep and get all the individual items. This ‘dry’ variation of a green curry makes one of the most satisfying supper dishes for the late winter and early months of spring.

Ingredients

600g	purple-sprouting broccoli
1	red onion, finely chopped
1½ tsp	palm sugar
7	kaffir lime leaves
400ml	coconut milk
450g	wide rice noodles
4 tbsp	sesame oil
3 tbsp	lime juice, plus more to finish
2 tbsp	sweet basil, shredded
75g	toasted pistachio nuts, chopped
	salt
SPICE PASTE
2cm	piece galangal (or ginger), peeled and chopped
1	medium green chilli, deseeded and roughly chopped
1½	lemongrass stalks, outer layer and tough ends removed, chopped
1	garlic clove, crushed
½	shallot, peeled and chopped
½ tbsp	coriander seeds, ground
½ tsp	cumin seeds, finely ground
½	a lime, its grated zest and juice
2 tbsp	vegetable oil, plus extra to sauté the onion
1	bunch fresh coriander, stalks, roots and all, washed

Method

1. Start by making a curry paste. Put the first 10 ingredients in the small bowl of a food processor and blend to a paste. You can also do this with a large pestle and mortar.

2. Trim any leaves from the broccoli and divide into large florets.

3. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a saucepan and sauté the onion for two to three minutes until translucent. Add the paste and cook, stirring, for two minutes. Add half a teaspoon of salt, the palm sugar, lime leaves and coconut milk, bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for five minutes.

4. Have ready two saucepans with boiling salted water. In one cook the noodles as instructed on the packet, and in the other cook the broccoli for a minute or two. Drain both. Rinse the noodles briefly under hot water, drain, toss in three tablespoons of sesame oil and the lime juice, and season well with salt. Drizzle the remaining sesame oil over the broccoli and sprinkle with a pinch of salt.

5. Divide the noodles between wide bowls and top with the broccoli. For each serving, spoon three to four tablespoons of sauce over and around the broccoli, and finish with basil, pistachio and a squirt of lime.