JANUARY JEWELS

THE TELEGRAPH PEOPLE’S CHOICE PUB OF THE YEAR

More unusual veg to seek out this month:

PURPLE SPROUTING BROCCOLI

Steam the stems (peel the lower end with a vegetable peeler first) then drizzle with olive oil flavoured with grated lemon zest, chopped garlic and chopped chilli flakes.

PARSLEY ROOT

Now grown in Suffolk, so look for it in farmers’ markets. It looks like parsnip, but has a less sweet, more nutty flavour – great in a batch of mixed roast root veg.

SALSIFY

Find this long, thin root veg in some branches of Waitrose this year. Cut into short lengths, cook in boiling salted water until tender then sauté in melted butter.

RADICCHIO

Try the vivid magenta leaves with a dressing of a tablespoon of cider vinegar, a teaspoon of honey and three tablespoons of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook a handful of pecans in a small pan with a tablespoon of honey until caramelised, and scatter over.

While both bok choy and pak choi are just alternative ways of spelling

Mandarin for “white vegetable” (that isn’t all “white” but green leafed), American-asian chefs refer to the pale green stemmed variety as pak choi, and the white stemmed as bok choy. Here in the UK we tend to call both pak choi and so recipes may specify either white or green stemmed.

But does it make any difference which you use? According to Ching He Huang, only a bit. “Both are delicious. I find the green stem somewhat sweeter and the white stem slightly more savoury. If I want a milder balanced dish I tend to go for the green stem, but if I want more contrast in flavours and colour – if I am stir frying with meat or heavier flavours like black beans – then I go for white stem.” The really prized ones are the baby versions, “especially the inner stems, which are more tender and sweet”.

To Deverell Smith, they are both good. “I love the texture, and the juicy crunch. It’s local and it’s beautiful, and it’s grown by people who care about food.” That never goes out of fashion.

Sunday 13 January 2019