Roast spiced brassicas with split pea purée

This hearty dish comes from Charlie James, former head chef at the River Cottage Canteen in Bristol.

SERVES

Four to six

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tsp coriander seeds

• 2 tsp cumin seeds

• 2 tsp fennel seeds

• 2 tsp caraway seeds (optional)

• A pinch of flaky sea salt

• A pinch of dried chilli flakes

• 2 tsp ground turmeric

• 2 tsp sweet smoked paprika

• 1 large head of broccoli (about 500g), stalk end trimmed

• 1 medium cauliflower (about 800g), stalk end trimmed

• 2 tbsp rapeseed oil, plus extra to finish

• 150g kale leaves

For the split pea purée

• 200g yellow split peas

• 3 garlic cloves, peeled but left whole

• 1 tbsp tahini

• 50ml rapeseed oil

• 1 tsp cumin seeds, roughly bashed

• Juice of ½ lemon, or more to taste

METHOD

1. Start with the split pea purée. Put the split peas and garlic cloves into a saucepan with 750ml water. Bring to the boil, lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 40 minutes until the split peas are completely tender and most of the water is absorbed. If there are more than a few tablespoons of water left in the pan, pour some of it off.

2. Tip the peas, garlic and residual water into a food processor. Add the tahini, oil, cumin, lemon juice and some salt and pepper. Blitz to a purée. It might seem quite liquid at first, but will soon start to thicken up. (If it stays a bit thin, return to the pan and simmer briefly before serving.)

3. While the peas are cooking, preheat the oven to 190C/170C fan/Gas 5. Using a pestle and mortar, bash the coriander, cumin, fennel and caraway seeds, if using, with the flaky salt and chilli flakes to break them down a bit. Add the turmeric, paprika and some pepper and stir well.

4. Cut the broccoli into large florets, splitting the stalks if they are thick. Remove any tough outer leaves from the cauliflower, keeping the tender inner leaves attached, then split into quarters, down through the stalk. Cut each quarter into three wedges, keeping the stalk attached.

5. Put the broccoli and cauliflower into a large roasting tray, trickle over one tablespoon of oil and toss the veg in it. Scatter over the spice mix and coat all the veg.

6. Roast for 30 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking, until the veg are tender and starting to brown. Meanwhile, strip the kale leaves off their central stalks and tear the leaves into rough pieces. Toss them in a large bowl with a tablespoon of oil and some salt and pepper.

7. After 30 minutes’ roasting, take the broccoli and cauliflower from the oven, scatter the oiled kale leaves over the veg and return to the oven for 10-15 minutes, or until most of the kale is slightly crisp.

8. If the split pea purée has cooled down, warm it up gently in a pan, with a splash of boiling water from the kettle if needed.

9. To serve, spoon the purée on to a warmed plate and arrange the veg on top, scattering over any bits of toasty spice mix still in the roasting dish. Give it a final trickle of rapeseed oil before serving.

Recipe from River Cottage Much More Veg by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (Bloomsbury, £26)