Gardening: Brassicas make a pretty plateful

'Romanesco' broccoli adds colour and flavour intensity to winter dinners. Added to pickles and relishes it's a winner with cheese. Photo / Meg Liptrot

Far from being boring, winter vegetables jazz up our meals.

It's cold out there and it's no surprise many veges we like to grow prefer warmer weather. But a number of uncelebrated winter heroes, some lesser known, could tide us through the cooler months and make eating your winter vege just that little bit more exciting.

Kale - an emerging superfood
One plant that has recently become the brassica du jour, whizzed up raw in green smoothies or baked into "chips", is the formerly ignored, humble kale. This brassica is best known to farmers who sow fields of agricultural kale varieties as stock food. The easy-to-grow leafy green packs a nutritious punch, is rich in vitamins K, A and C, and has cholesterol-lowering and cancer-fighting properties.

Some good-looking kale cultivars have ornamental value in a kitchen garden. This year I've planted "Cavolo Nero" and curly kale, along with rhubarb "Crimson Crumble", radicchio, beetroot "Bulls Blood" and crimson clover in the narrow garden at the front of our property. Forget hiding these beauties away in the cabbage patch.

Kale cultivars such as "Palm Tree di Toscana" (or "Cavolo Nero") could be grown as perennials. As the name suggests, it looks a little like a miniature palm tree as it develops a trunk-like stalk. I've kept the odd specimen going for a number of years by cutting the woody stalk in half if it gets too leggy. Soon, the old "trunk" will sprout fresh new leaves.

When prepping kale, remove the stalk, steam the leaves just long enough to wilt (avoids that sulphurous cabbage smell), squeeze lemon juice on and a little butter and voila! Healthy greens to go.

Weird and wacky broccoli?
"Romanesco" broccoli has become a talking point at our environment centre's community garden. This mesmerising vegetable is a world away from bog-standard broccoli, and has a quirky, lime green, "fractal" design.

Also, if you're sick of plain white cauliflower, there are violet, orange or lime-coloured cultivars available. Who needs a flower garden with these beauties?

Kids are bound to be more interested in eating these "freaky" veges, although I'm not so sure if pretty purple Brussels sprouts will increase their appreciation of that particular vegetable.

The brassica family (broccoli, cabbage, kale, Brussels sprouts) are heavy feeders, so be sure to add a source of organic nutrition, such as compost and sheep pellets, before planting. They also appreciate the addition of lime if you have acidic soil.

Learning to love broad beans
These beans have a bad name for their leathery grey skin, but making the effort to serve the juicy green inner bean without the shell will increase appreciation of them tenfold, as they're tender and delicious. Broad beans can be added to a warm winter salad, tossed with a dressing or even pureed with garlic and basil or parsley into a pesto-like sauce. Try plucking tender broad bean leaf tips for salads.

It is a thrill when the plump shoots emerge from the earth in the cold of winter. I like to grow the reliable performer "Exhibition Long Pod", but there are plenty of types to choose from, including one which has crimson flowers.

Aspirational asparagus
Asparagus crowns are available now for winter planting, and there's nothing better than harvesting your own asparagus in the warmth of spring.

This crop is a long-term commitment and you'll need to resist the temptation to harvest the shoots until the plant is established. After a year, you can start cutting spears, gradually increasing your harvest each spring.

Plant in a permanent position in the garden, and prepare the bed well by digging deeply, incorporating sand for good drainage, plus sheep pellets, compost, seaweed and a little lime for acid soils.

When planting, spread the star-shaped asparagus crowns over mounds in a trench, then cover with around 10cm soil. Through the growing season, fill in the trenches little by little (without covering new shoots). Finally, mulch with pea straw.

Allow asparagus ferns to grow right through to late autumn then cut to ground level once they've died back. The spears will emerge again, year after year, in spring.

Quiet achievers

A number of lesser-known edible greens are worth trying. Considered a staple winter crop in Europe, chicory comes in colourful varieties, from the milky coloured "witloof" chicory to "radicchio", a beautiful, red-leafed type. Chicory can be used raw in salads, or sauteed. Witloof chicory, also known as Belgium endive, is grown without light pre-harvest for tenderness and a mild flavour. Other leafy winter greens include miner's lettuce or winter purslane, which adds a fresh wild taste to salads and can be steamed. Perennial wild rocket (arugula) prefers the cool months, as does puha, and Asian greens such as mizuna, tat-soi, misome and mustard streaks offer plenty of choice to liven up the winter kitchen garden.