Why we should all be eating more broccoli

Sprouting broccoli makes an excellent substitute for asparagus. Photograph: Jonathan Gayman/Getty Images/Flickr RF

As you bask in the sunshine this lunchtime, please spare a thought for those who aren't enjoying the heatwave. The frail and elderly, the very young, all those dogs panting their way around the park – and the many, many heads of broccoli, drooping sadly in the supermarket as you eagerly reach past them for a cooling cucumber.

An unusually chilly spring (remember that?) produced a glut of the brassica, which means British growers are harvesting three times as much as normal, but in the heat, no one is buying. One Kent farmer expects to lose ￡20,000 on his crop. "Most people view broccoli as something you have in the winter with warming meals like a roast dinner," he told the Mail, despondently.

Frankly, I would have expected more from Guardian readers. With Yotam Ottolenghi promoting char-grilled sprouting broccoli with sweet tahini, and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall giving a recipe for a purple sprouting broccoli pasta in this very paper, there is no excuse for such ignorance.

Indeed, for all its wintry reputation, broccoli is rather exotic; it hails from Italy, where the name is a diminutive of "shoots", so has probably been bred to go better with Hugh's garlic and anchovies than our own roast beef and Yorkshires.

Broccoli also has a colourful history: Jane Grigson, writing in 1978, expects readers to be most familiar with "the purple flowering kind", but adds that "Italians enjoy the white as well, and in recent years have added an excellent green-flowering variety that comes in larger clumps ... in shape closer to a small cauliflower". Originally developed in Calabria, in Italy's wild south, this variety is now far more common than its smaller, sproutier rivals – but both have their merits.

Our ancestors better appreciated the virtues of broccoli, with the 18th-century seed merchant Stephen Switzer claiming that, next to asparagus, it makes the best warm salads – "at least much better than any other kind of sprouts that grow". He's right: I'd take a bunch of purple sprouting broccoli over a pungent tray of beansprouts any day.

Indeed, sprouting broccoli makes an excellent substitute for asparagus now our fleeting season is over for another year. Trim the woody bases from the stalks, and steam them as you would asparagus, until just tender to the tooth, then serve with warm, rich hollandaise (the slight bitterness also works particularly well with sauce maltaise), an intensely savoury Italian bagna cauda or a garlicky Provencale aioli. Split into tiny trees, the ordinary green sort is a stalwart of the crudite selection – just the thing to dip into some tapenade or hummus.

In fact, the more flavour you throw at it the better: all varieties work brilliantly with ingredients such as chilli, soy sauce and goat's cheese, but they also look pretty added to seasonal salads of broad beans, peas and courgettes, and work wonderfully in such picnic favourites as frittatas and quiches. Why, you can even chargrill it on the barbecue. So, please, do your bit for British broccoli this summer.

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How To Make A Broccoli And Salmon Quiche

You will need: Metric US Imperial UK Imperial

Enlarge In this episode of The Tasty Tenner food vlogger and chef Tess Ward shows you how to make a homemade quiche with a broccoli and salmon filling, served with a simple courgette salad.

Prep:40mCook:45mTotal:1h:25m200 g flour1/2 tsp salt100 g butter4 tsp water2 fillets of salmon, approx 300g60 g broccoli4 eggs300 ml double cream100 ml milk3 courgettes3 tsp olive oil1/2 tsp mustard3 tsp lemon juicea small handful of basilsalt and pepper

Combine the salt, flour and the butter, slowly add the water until you have a dough consistency, then wrap it in clingfilm and refrigerate for 15 minutes. Remove from the fridge, roll out to about 2 mm thick and press it into a greased pastry tin, then refrigerate for a further 20 minutes.

Place some parchment paper in the pastry case and fill with dry beans or rice, then bake for 15 minutes. Remove the baking beans and return it to the oven for a further 5 minutes.

Season the salmon, add a little brush of butter and bake in the oven for 15 mins or until cooked through and flaky. Chop the broccoli small and steam for 5 minutes in a little salted water. Mix the egg, milk and cream, then add the flaked salmon and broccoli, pour into the pastry case and bake for 20-25 minutes until set.

Wash the Courgettes and use a speed peeler to cut them into ribbons. Add the olive oil and lemon to a bowl with the mustard and mix well. Toss the dressing through the ribbons of courgette and basil leaves and season.

Thanks for watching video How To Make A Broccoli And Salmon Quiche

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Pasta Shell Risotto with Broccoli Rabe

yield: Makes 4 to 6 (main course) servings

active time: 30 min

total time: 35 min

Slowly cooking the pasta risotto-style by ladling hot broth over it allows the shells to soak up all of the broth's aroma and results in a velvety, creamy texture. The bitter bite of the greens adds just enough edge. if (Epi.text.truncatedVersion) { Epi.text.truncatedVersion("recipeIntroText", "Slowly cooking the pasta risotto-style by ladling hot broth over it allows the shells to soak up all of the broth's aroma and results in a velvety,..."); } else { jQuery(function() { Epi.text.truncatedVersion("recipeIntroText", "Slowly cooking the pasta risotto-style by ladling hot broth over it allows the shells to soak up all of the broth's aroma and results in a velvety,..."); }); } Bring broth, water, and 1 teaspoon salt to a boil in a medium saucepan, then reduce heat and keep at a bare simmer.

Trim tough stem ends from broccoli rabe, then cut remaining stems crosswise into 1-inch pieces and reserve. Coarsely chop florets and leaves.

Heat oil in a 5- to 6-quart heavy pot over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then saute onion with 1/2 teaspoon salt until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and saute 1 minute, then add pasta, broccoli rabe stems, and 3/4 cup hot broth and simmer briskly, stirring constantly, until broth is absorbed. Continue simmering and adding hot broth, about 3/4 cup at a time, stirring frequently and letting each addition be absorbed before adding the next, until pasta is almost al dente and creamy-looking, 12 to 13 minutes. Stir in remaining broccoli rabe and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring, until pasta is al dente and broccoli rabe is just tender, 2 to 3 minutes. (If needed, add more hot broth to moisten; there will be some broth left over.) Stir in cheese and salt and pepper to taste. Serve with more cheese on the side.

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