Broccoli Spears on Roasted Carrot Puree

As we find ourselves truly in the new year,  with festivities having come to an end, the enthusiasm of resolutions waning and the shock at the realisation of how much we actually spent on Christmas gifts, we remain optimistic. The days are getting longer and we have purple sprouting broccoli in our weekly veg bag. We are easily won over by the charm of these little brassica and together with some carrots and beans have prepared a humble dish that is sure to bring a burst of cheer even in the darkest and coldest evenings that January throws at us.

Although these are local hearty winter veg, we couldn’t resist a little exotic spicing up by adding cumin and turmeric and a generous drizzle of some Mediterranean tahini and lemon dressing. We used carrots, but sweet potatoes or butternut squash would also be a treat. The beans can be omitted especially if this is to be served as a starter. Broccoli spears would be the best aesthetic substitution for the purple sprouting broccoli, but the regular and always welcome head of broccoli is just as tasty. A great swap for the lemon tahini dressing would be a high end, naturally syrupy balsamic vinegar. We also topped our dish with some chilli oil, after all, a meal without it isn’t complete, is it? We simply put the hottest chilli flakes that we can find in a jar and top with extra virgin olive oil.

Ingredients:

• 3 medium sized carrots
• 1 1/2 cup cooked haricot beans (1 can)
• 2 large coves of garlic
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp turmeric 
• 250g broccoli
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 1/4 cup of tahini
• salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Preheat oven to 200C, 400F

• Scrub the carrots clean (best not to peal) and wash the broccoli.
• Dry the carrots and place in a large mixing bowl and toss to coat with a pinch of salt and 1 tbsp olive oil. Place on a roasting tray along with the garlic cloves (leave garlic in their papery skin) and pop into the oven for 40 min.
• Slice the broccoli spears in half length wise if they are more than a 1/2 inch (2cm) thick. Leave the leaves intact, they will crisp up in the oven, delicious. 
• Once the broccoli is dry, toss in mixing bowl with another 1 tsp of salt and 1 tbsp of olive oil and place in a roasting tin. 
• When the carrots and broccoli have cooked for 40 minutes, place the broccoli into the oven and cook all veg for a further 5 min. The broccoli will cook very quickly, so it is best to set a timer, set for 4 min and check that they are not starting to burn. A little charring is tasty, but not too much.
• Chop the carrots and peel the garlic (it will be very soft, so be careful not burn your fingers) and place along with the drained can of beans, turmeric and cumin and place in a food processor. Blend until smooth, taste and season with salt and pepper.

Lemon Tahini Dressing:

• In a measuring cup, add 1/4 cup of water, a pinch of salt and the lemon juice. Finally add the tahini until a 1/4 cup of it has been added. By displacing the water and lemon, you should be able to measure in the 1/4 cup of tahini.
• Whisk the ingredients together to form a smooth dressing. Add water 1 tbsp at a time to thin to desired consistency.