Purple sprouting broccoli with anchovy sauce

Robin Sutherland, the owner of the Old Compton Wine Bar, had a farm on the Isle of Wight, from which he supplied me with this uniquely British vegetable and the most delicious swill-fed pork (see Grillades de Porc). He was most insistent on barely cooking the broccoli, and this in 1974 when most vegetables were traditionally boiled for three weeks.

Purple sprouting broccoli is an important vegetable in the cook’s calendar. The earl