Garlicky chickpeas with roast purple-sprouting broccoli, chilli and ricotta recipe

I fell in love with the combination of ricotta and chilli in Sicily. Greens with an earthy nuttiness; soft, cold, mild ricotta; hot chilli - there’s lots going on but it’s a very simple dish to make.

Prep time: 10 minutes | Cooking time: 15 minutes

SERVES

Six as a side dish or four as a main

INGREDIENTS

• 500g purple-sprouting broccoli

• 4 tbsp olive oil

• 3 red chillis, halved, deseeded and finely chopped (leave some seeds in if you want it more spicy)

• 1 x 400g tin chickpeas, drained, rinsed and dried in a tea towel

• 4 cloves garlic, finely sliced

• 1 sprig rosemary

• Lemon juice, to taste

• 175g ricotta, broken into small chunks

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• Shaved parmesan or pecorino

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas mark 6.

2. Halve any wider-stalked broccoli pieces lengthways. Put into a roasting tin large enough to hold the broccoli in a single layer and add half the olive oil, the chilli and some seasoning. Toss around with your hands.

3. Roast for 12-15 minutes, turning the vegetables over halfway through. The broccoli should be tender and slightly charred.

4. Heat the rest of the olive oil in a frying pan and saute the chickpeas over a high heat until they look slight toasty. Add the garlic and rosemary and cook until the garlic is golden.

5. Season and squeeze some lemon juice over the chickpeas. Remove the rosemary (it just flavours the oil beautifully).

6. Arrange the broccoli and chilli and the chickpeas on a platter or in a large, broad shallow bowl.

7. Dot the ricotta over this and drizzle on the extra virgin olive oil, adding more lemon juice and seasoning. Scatter the shaved cheese over the top and serve.