Brussels Sprouts And Broccoli In Advance

Our answer

Nigella's Brussels Sprouts With Chestnuts, Pancetta And Parsley (from FEAST and Broccoli With Lemon And Parmesan (from NIGELLISSIMA) could both be prepared in advance with a little effort. However we would prefer not to reheat them in the oven, as reheating the vegetables this way will tend to affect the colour of the vegetables adversely.

Reheated vegetables are never quite as verdent, but to help preserve as much colour as possible you initially need to blanch the vegetables and we suggest you blanch the sprouts and broccoli separately. This can be done the day before and then the vegetables need to be stored in the fridge. To blanch the vegetables, bring a large saucepan of well-salted water to the boil. At the same time fill a large bowl (big enough to hold the vegetables) with ice water. Put the vegetables into the boiling water, bring back to the boil as quickly as possible and cook until the vegetables are crisp-tender (cooked but with a bit of bite). Immediately drain the vegetables and plunge them into the ice water, then when cold drain, cover tightly and refrigerate. To reheat the broccoli we would suggest using a micowave or tossing the broccoli in a frying pan with a little water until heated through. Drain and add the lemon and Parmesan. For the brussels sprouts cook the pancetta, add the buttter and sprouts and cook until heated through, then add the chestnuts and Marsala and let this bubble up and reduce slightly before sprinkling on half of the parsley.