Purple Broccoli

Purple Broccoli (aka Purple Sprouting Broccoli)

Brassica oleracea var. italica

Image courtesy https://www.flickr.com/photos/wheatfields/3408358453

Purple Broccoli is a sprouting broccoli once called Asparagus broccoli and Christmas Calabrian Broccoli. First cultivated in Southern Italy, it’s native to the eastern Mediterranean and Central Asian regions, but largely unknown outside of England and Italy until the early 1980s. Two English breeders, Aland Gray and P. Crisp, worked to develop hardier, tastier plants and created a cultivar that could be commercialized in 1985. They have a longer growing season and are planted late in the spring and often are not available until winter or the spring of the following year.

Storage: Refrigerate wrapped in plastic for up to 2 weeks.

Preparation: More tender than common broccoli, it cooks quickly under high heat without getting mushy. However, the purple tinge is lost due to heat. Delicious eaten raw, it’s a colorful pop on a crudite platter. It can also be sauteed, steamed, roasted, grilled, and fried; added to pasta, risotto or pizzas; and eaten alongside a cheese and charcuterie platter.

Taste: Nutty, peppery with underlying sweetness and bitterness.

Nutritional Benefits: Excellent source of vitamin C, K, and A, it ‘s also a source of folates, B-complex vitamins, manganese, and iron.