Purple cauliflower

It has the same mild, slightly nutty flavour, so you can use it in the same dishes. Its colour makes a colourful change to a cauliflower cheese or roast dinner.

Steam the florets for about 5–7 minutes rather than boiling them, which can leach colour into the water. A little lemon juice or vinegar in the cooking water helps keep the purple hue; avoid adding bicarbonate of soda.

Toss bite-sized florets with oil, spread them out on a baking tray and roast at 200°C for about 25–30 minutes, turning once. They’re ready when browned at the edges and tender when pierced with a knife.

It works in cauliflower cheese, mild curry and soups, or roasted alongside a Sunday dinner. For cauliflower cheese, briefly steam the florets first, then bake them in cheese sauce until bubbling and golden.

Keep it unwashed in a loose bag in the fridge’s salad drawer and use it within about 4–5 days. If you’ve cut it, wrap the pieces or put them in a covered container and use them sooner.

Yes: swap it in equal amounts for white cauliflower in curry, soup, cauliflower cheese or cauliflower rice. If you boil it, the water may take on some of its colour, so steaming or roasting is better when appearance matters.

No. Purple cauliflower is a compact head of tightly packed florets; purple sprouting broccoli has slender stems and loose flowering shoots. You can roast both, but broccoli cooks more quickly, so add it to a tray later.