As spring slips into summer, I feel less precious and include those green shoots in salads with snippets of air-dried ham and pieces of smoked trout, or perhaps some spoonfuls of ricotta with black pepper and olive oil.
I bought a fistful of spring greens back from the shops this week as if they were a bunch of flowers. Soft, tender cabbage leaves, lithe and loose, they were washed and then cut into wide ribbons like pasta. Cooked in a shallow pan, still wet from the tap, the leaves were sweet and tender and ready in 2 minutes.
Tenderstem broccoli with garlic hollandaise I used garlic leaves here, but you could use tender young spinach leaves instead, or to continue the garlic theme, peel and finely crush 3 young, juicy cloves and stir them into the yolks before adding the butter.
Their freshness and youth deserved respect not the tinkering of a creative cook so they were tossed in nothing more than peppery olive oil, chopped parsley and mint.
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