Slow cooked Broccoli & Broad Bean Bruschetta

Something on toast is so often welcome, so when I find myself struggling to keep up with the broccoli growing in my vegetable garden, I came up with this idea for a bruschetta topping. The slow cooking of the broccoli, adds depth and enhances the savoury note, the addition of broad beans which are also in season and Gorgonzola which is a constant store ingredient in this house, all make for a very delicious lunch dish for 4 or a starter for 6.

For this recipe you will need;
200g of shelled broad beans
300g of purple sprouting broccoli, roughly chopped
30g of unsalted butter
1 tablespoon of olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
 mint leaves
4 large slices of good sourdough bread, toasted
Marigold bouillon powder
50ml of Noilly Prat
Coarsely ground black pepper

Begin by frying the chopped garlic gently in the oil and 10g of the butter until it begins to take on colour. Add the Noilly Prat, 1 teaspoon of bouillon powder, if using, otherwise 1/2 a teaspoon of sea salt, 1/2 a teaspoon of pepper and the broccoli and cook on a low heat adding 50ml of water at the point where the pan begins to become dry. You will need in all at least 300ml of water. Cooking the broccoli this way retains all the flavour and produces a savoury, tender result. When the pan becomes completely dry and you begin to hear the sound of gentle frying again, turn off the heat and allow to cool.

Simmer the broad beans in salted water for roughly 5 minutes until they are just tender. Run under cold water tap to cool, before placing in a food processor with the mint and remaining butter and processing until you have a smooth, whipped puree. Season with bouillon powder or salt, pepper and process a further minute.

To assemble, spread each piece of toast with the broad bean mix, adding a portion of the cooked broccoli and topping off with nuggets of Gorgonzola, delicious.

Notes:
You can always hold back a few of the broad beans and once cooked take their skins off in order to dress the final bruschetta, this produces a fancier look, but really, there are better things to do with 4 minutes.
I planted the broccoli the second week in May and I've been eating the stuff for what feels like weeks! The broccoli I'm planting this week I should be able to harvest much more slowly when the winter rolls in, hooray.