Broccoli with Sesame Mustard Sauce

Spring, especially April is a time for rapeseed. In Japan the unopened flower buds are often eaten in Spring. Whilst we don’t necessarily eat this plant at such a time there is a similarity with broccoli (calabrese). We’ve grown this in the garden as a Winter vegetable and it keeps on giving. If rapeseed flower buds can be eaten with mustard sauces then we can do the same with other greens. I think this side works well both hot and cold. A number of chefs have tried various coatings for broccoli and I reckon that a sesame seed sauce is ideal for this plant. It could also work well with Purple Sprouting and Rapa which is another easily grown crop.

If you are interested, check out our growing broccoli page.

Serves 4: Preparation time: 10 minutes; Cooking time: 5 minutes. Total time: 15 minutes.

Ingredients:

• 250g broccoli (calabrese), rapa heads or even Purple Sprouting
• 4 tsp light soy sauce
• 2 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp tahini – dark is preferred but we like any
• 4 tsp wholegrain mustard but not sweetened
• 4 Tbsp water

Preparation:

1. 1. Clean the vegetable heads of any dirt and cut into florets. Cut out any hard parts but keep the stems.
   2. Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and add the vegetables. Cook all for a minute. The stalks can be cooked for a further 3 minutes. The alternative is to steam the broccoli and then dunk in cold water if you want to serve as a cold dish.
   3. Make the sauce with the soy sauce, sugar, tahini, mustard and some water in a mixing bowl.
   4. Take the broccoli or rapa and coat with the sauce. Serve warm but it is OK to serve cold too.