Exploring More Sustainable Everyday Recipe Choices
Disclaimer...I am not a professional chef!
Welcome to this month’s food blog. Thank you for joining me in my journey towards conscious and sustainable eating . I look forward to making the journey with you and learning as I go.
This month I am focusing on Broccoli. It comes into season in the UK in April, with purple sprouting broccoli preceding it in March. I am not perfect but more and more I am trying to buy food that has been produced nearer to home. Obviously things that are not in season in the UK, will have had to be shipped in from further a field. With this in mind I am trying to improve my awareness of which foods are in season in the UK month by month.
> Eat the seasons fruit and veg
Broccoli belongs to the cruciferous family, along with cauliflower, cabbage and kale and it can be eaten raw or cooked, with just 80g (about 2 spears) counting as one of your five-a-day
Nutritional benefits of broccoli
There have been many health claims over the years about broccoli and whether it could be labelled a ‘superfood’ or not, but its nutrient-rich profile does offer some real health benefits.
Broccoli is a good source of fibre and protein, and contains iron, potassium, calcium, selenium and magnesium as well as the vitamins A, C, E, K and a good array of B vitamins including folic acid.
Personally I love broccoli and often include it in dishes or as an accompaniment to meals. This month I am going to share with you a version of an amazingly quick and delicious alternative to macaroni cheese.
I adapted it from a recipe I heard about on the BBC one morning using cherry tomatoes. I have included a link to a version of that recipe at the end.
Baked Feta and Broccoli Pasta ~ serves 4
Ingredients
400g Pasta
Broccoli I -2 heads depending on size and how many you are cooking for *
Half a cup of Olive oil
Block of feta
Salt and Pepper
Lemon juice and lemon zest*
Fresh basil
Tips
*Peel and chop broccoli stems and include to avoid food waste
*Adjust lemon according to taste. Leave out if you are not keen on lemony flavours
Method
Preheat oven to 400F.
Cut broccoli florets into quarters and place in a baking dish.
Drizzle 1/2 cup olive oil and salt and pepper over the broccoli and toss to cover.
Make a space for the brick of feta in the middle of the broccoli and place it there.
Drizzle more oil and black pepper on the top of the feta.
Bake the feta and broccoli in the oven at 400F for 35 minutes.
While the feta and broccoli bakes, prepare pasta.
Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water from the cooked pot of pasta.
Remove the feta and broccoli from the oven and immediately stir to combine.
Add pasta water until the sauce is creamy.
Add the warm cooked pasta into the pan and stir again.
Finish the dish with the lemon juice, lemon zest and fresh basil. Stir once more to fully combine and serve.
Serving Suggestions
Serve with a green side salad and warm bread for a more substantial meal.
Sprinkle toasted almond flakes or pine nuts over the top for that something extra!
Let me know if you give this a try and how you get on. You too might wish to share your favourite recipe based around the ingredient of the month.If so please send them to us or share on either Sustainable Shrivenham and or Foodies for Sustainability.
Next month I will be focusing on another seasonal food recipe and sharing some easy tips I have found to avoid food waste.
Check out the local farm shops to see what seasonal veg they have in.
Happy Healthy Eating Everyone!
