Recipe of the week: hot anchovy and garlic sauce, roasted broccoli and walnuts

Good anchovies are essential for this version of bagna càuda sauce, says Angela Clutton: my favourite brand is Ortiz from Brindisa in Borough Market, but they are also available elsewhere.

Anchovies are a wonderful partner for broccoli, and are especially delicious with the purple sprouting variety. This dish works as a side, as a starter, piled on toast for lunch, or even tossed through pasta.

Serves four people as a small plate or side

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Ingredients

• 250g purple sprouting broccoli
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 70g walnuts

For the anchovy and garlic sauce:

• 6 garlic cloves
• 150ml milk
• 12 anchovy fillets in oil
• 120g unsalted butter
• 120ml olive oil
• 1 tbsp crème fraîche

Method

• Preheat the oven to 210°C/190°C fan/410°F/gas mark 6.
• Trim off any very woody ends of the broccoli, then slice the stems horizontally into thinner lengths, being sure to keep the leaves. Toss in the olive oil and arrange in a single layer in a roasting tray. Season lightly. Roast in the oven for about 12 minutes, until starting to char.
• Use that time to crush the walnuts lightly, then scatter them over the broccoli and return the tray to the oven for a further 3 minutes.
• While the broccoli is roasting, prepare the sauce: peel and halve the garlic cloves, removing any green in their centres.
• Put the milk into a small saucepan, add the garlic cloves and cook gently over a low heat until tender – it will take about 15 minutes. That’s almost exactly as long as the broccoli and nuts take to roast, but if they are ready first, just set the tray aside out of the oven while you finish the sauce.
• Take the pan off the heat and mash the tender garlic cloves into the milk. Drain the anchovies of their oil and stir them into the milk until dissolved. Dice the butter into pieces and then, over a low heat, whisk in with the olive oil and crème fraîche.
• Serve the sauce with the broccoli and nuts while it is all still hot.

Taken from Borough Market: The Knowledge with Angela Clutton, published by Hodder & Stoughton at £27. Photography by Kim Lightbody. To buy from The Week Bookshop for £21.99 (incl. p&p), call 020-3176 3835 or visit theweekbookshop.co.uk.