Pasta with purple sprouting broccoli

Serves 2

This is based on a gnocchi dish I ate at P Franco in east London. It also works well served cold, as a salad, or as an accompaniment to the pork below. — 200g purple sprouting broccoli, florets and leaves carefully removed, stalks and half the leaves roughly chopped

— 20g flat-leaf parsley

— 2 garlic cloves, peeled — 80ml extra-virgin olive oil — juice of ½ lemon

— 1 tsp chilli flakes

— 6 black peppercorns — freshly grated nutmeg — 200g dried orecchiette,

or pasta of your choice — 60g toasted pine nuts — grated Parmesan, to serve

Bring a large pan of well-salted water to the boil. Have a bowl of iced water by your side. Add the broccoli stalks to the pan and blanch for five minutes, then add the chopped leaves and blanch for another minute. Remove everything with a slotted spoon and place in the iced water. Once cool, drain and transfer the stalks and leaves to the bowl of a food processor.

Repeat with the florets and whole leaves, blanching until just tender (1-2 minutes) and removing to iced water. Set them aside.

Blanch the parsley and garlic together for 30 seconds then drain and put straight into the food processor. Reserve the water to cook the pasta in later.

Add 50ml of olive oil to the food processor along with the lemon juice, chilli flakes and peppercorns, and a big pinch of salt. Blitz to a smooth, glossy sauce then scrape into a bowl with a spatula. Add the rest of the oil and a grating of nutmeg. Stir and taste for seasoning.

Bring the pan of water back to the boil, topping up with a little more water if needed. Cook the pasta until al dente. Drain.

Warm the green sauce very gently in a frying pan, and toss into the hot pasta along with the blanched broccoli florets and leaves.

Divide the pasta between two bowls, topping it with pine nuts and Parmesan.