Broccoli
An open-field crop of Almería's Levante, sharing the cool season with lettuce and cauliflower. Sown in the heat, cut in the cold — before the head opens its buds.
Broccoli belongs to Almería's other huerta, the one growing under open sky: a brassica of the Levante's fields, expressly cited in the area's plant-health monitoring of leaf crops, joining lettuce and cauliflower in the cool-month rotation. Its provincial production is real, though far less dominant than the coastal crops under plastic — here diversity counts, not volume.
The plant first builds its foliage, then forms a compact head that is cut before the flower buds open; the cool nights tighten the florets and give them their deep green. The October-to-spring window is a seasonal indication rather than a hard boundary — variety and planting date shift it.
At the table it is a newcomer that has quickly earned its place: sautéed with garlic, in winter soups, or simply boiled and dressed with a good oil from the valley.