Late-picked purple sprouting is one of the most nutritious vegetables around at the moment, especially if you buy it from a farmers market or farm shops such as Millets at Frilford where it's harvested fresh from the field every day. A 100g portion of freshly picked purple sprouting contains enough vitamin C for your day's requirements, and loads of other nourishing nutrients too.

With luck, this glorious vegetable with its tasty little purple spears should be around for another couple of weeks. It may even continue cropping until the end of April if the weather stays cool.

Purple sprouting tastes so good it's worth serving steamed or boiled then flavoured with a generous sprinkling of fresh lemon juice and served along with a little pot of melted butter as a starter.

This recipe, which includes duck, can be used as a starter for four or a main course or two.

YOU WILL NEED:

  • 2 duck breasts
  • 10oz (300g) purple sprouting heads
  • 2oz (50g) cashew nuts
  • 1oz (25g) butter
  • 1 clove garlic chopped fine
  • 1 tspn soy sauce
  • Juice of one orange
  • Oil to fry duck breasts
  • Salt and freshly ground black peppercorns to season.

METHOD:

  • Using a frying pan which can be placed in the oven, gently fry the duck breasts until golden brown on both sides remove from hot plate and place in a medium oven for about ten minutes (180C/350F or gas mark 4) to finish off.
  • While the duck is cooking, fry the cashew nuts in the butter until golden brown. Remove from heat and reserve.
  • Wash the purple sprouting heads under running water to remove any grit, place in pan of cold salted water and bring to the boil.
  • When the sprouting has reached boiling point, reduce heat and allow to cook for a few moments more, but not too much the heads are fragile and can disintegrate if overcooked. Remove from water when cooked and refresh under cold water.
  • When the duck breasts are done, remove from oven, allow to rest.
  • Make the sauce by first removing any excess fat from the pan in which you have cooked duck, place pan complete with cooking residue over high heat, add garlic, then the orange juice and reduce by a third. Add soy sauce, taste, then adjust seasoning with freshly ground peppercorns and a little salt if needed.
  • Add the purple sprouting to the pan, toss in the hot sauce to warm through, but don't allow it to cook further.
  • Divide the purple sprouting between two or four warm plates, slice the duck and place on top and decorate by scattering the cashew nuts around the sprouting. Pour any sauce left in the pan over the sliced duck.

Note: A squeeze of lemon juice can be added to the sauce too if you are looking for a tart flavour.