Every fall, this thing haunts me as I stroll through the vegetables at the grocery store. What is it? And, more importantly, why do I want it so badly? Its freaky spikes had me intrigued.
Finding out that this was an Italian vegetable was what pushed me over the edge and this strange beauty was quickly in my shopping cart and on its way to its new home.
What is Romanesco?
Called Broccoli Romanesco, some say it’s a cross between cauliflower and broccoli. It’s technically an edible flower of the species Brassica oleracea. I found it to be most similar to cauliflower in texture with a mild broccoli-like taste.
How do I cook it?
It holds up to many different cooking methods and can be cooked in any way you might cook broccoli or cauliflower. Scroll down for a tasty Roasted Romanesco recipe!
Why would I want to eat this strange looking vegetable?
- You want to try something new.
- You want to eat like an Italian.
- You want to feel worldly and super cool.
- You want to add “eating Romanesco” to your bucket list, then cross it off, and feel like you’ve accomplished something.
- You want to tell your co-workers you are a foodie and mean it.
- You want to eat something delicious and healthy.
Here I roasted it with mild tasting, buttery olive oil and salty Pecorino Romano cheese. Once again – thank you, Italy.
Roasted Romanesco
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeIngredients
- 1 head of Broccoli Romanesco
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons shredded Pecorino Romano cheese
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 15 turns fresh ground pepper
- Hot paprika or red pepper flakes (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F and line baking sheet with parchment paper or nonstick spray.
- Take a deep breath as you realize you are going to actually eat this spiky, alien looking vegetable. It’s going to be okay.
- Cut off Romanesco florets (as you would broccoli or cauliflower) and place in a medium size bowl.
- Season with salt, pepper.
- If you are using the hot paprika or red pepper flakes, lightly sprinkle them to taste over the top – I used the paprika. (You don’t need a lot unless you really want it spicy).
- Add olive oil and 1 tablespoon of the Pecorino Romano and toss to coat.
- Lay Romanesco in single layer on baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, turning once at the halfway point.
- Sprinkle remaining shredded Pecorino Romano over the top just before serving.
Notes
More great recipes at www.thekitchensnob.com
I want to feel worldly! You made this dinosaur vegetable look YUMMY … I will have to add it to my edible bucket list 🙂
I think it would totally exciting to try a new and different vegetable…one I had never heard of! And …. as always…..your recipe makes it a “MUST TRY”. Thanks.
wow this veggie is terrific and the recipe is outstanding. I want to grow some next year.
Thanks! If you end up growing them, I’d love to see some pictures of them.
Whoa. I recognized the thing from examples of natural fractals and the Fibonacci spiral. I think it was on the cover of one of my graphics design books, but I never thought about actually eating this, only appreciating it’s mathematical and artistic beauty. Regardless, I’ll have to give it a try. You’ve made it sound tasty! Yum, roasted fractals with pecorino – it’s a designer’s dream.
I never knew I was eating a fractal. Now can I say I’m good at math?
Sounds yummy 🙂 I’m going to try this tonight. I’m growing it in my garden right now and just picked my first head. Would love to send you a picture from my garden.
Yes, please do! You must live in a warm climate to be picking anything from the garden right now. Here it is a balmy 12 degrees out.
i just received a couple of these in my CSA delivery. They are beautiful! Looking forward to roasting them. Thanks for the recipe!
You’re welcome! They aren’t in our supermarkets this time of year but I can’t wait to see them again.
I love romanesco, this Is a great way to cook it. Thanks for linking up to Sweet and Savoury Sunday, stop by and link up again. Have a great day!!
I love the romanesco . Many years ago I brought home a head of romanesco to my mum. she had never seen one, we cut it in half verticaly to see what was inside ? I am a fair cook , so I steamed it for the time I would cauliflower.. tasted greated, superb texture , geat pressence on the plate..next I got adventurous , here is my idea of the way to make a siimple vegetable into a spectacullar table centrepiece..I would then steam. For same e as cauliflower. make a cheese sause (to your taste) I would .fry small pieces of fatty bacon, then give the split romesco a lap round the bacon pan add pour tthe cheese sause over and enjoy. Simple but just GREAT. Love george.
Thanks for the comment, George. I’ll have to try that next time I cook it. I haven’t seen it in our stores yet this season.
seen it in a vegetable shop on the high st Exeter
I just had this as part of my CSA pick up. I had never had it before and had no idea how to cook it so I googled it and came upon your recipe. I made it for dinner tonight and it was out of this world! It was buttery and crunchy at the same time. Thanks for the recipe!
Yay! And you’re welcome! I love to hear that kind of news.
Just got my first Romanesco and love it. I’m a cauli fanatic so this was definitely on the list to try.
I love it raw with a little Bernsteins dressing. Out of sight!
Ed – I like the idea of the Bernsteins. Thanks for the tip!
This was absolutely delicious — thanks for the wonderful recipe. We had no idea how to prepare the Romanesco in our CSA basket. This recipe is one of my new favorites. Not sure if it’s the Romanesco we loved or just this preparation, but it certainly worked! We made no changes, apart from skipping the cheese because we didn’t have any on hand. Still fantastic. We used a sprinkle of paprika instead of red pepper flakes. Again, thank you!
Amy – I’m so happy to hear that you liked the recipe! I’ll have to try paprika next time.
I just got one today, never seen them before so we are going to try this tonight looks good.thank you
I’m glad to hear it, Kerri. Let me know how it turns out. I haven’t seen them in our grocery store for a long time.
I was given a head and I was not sure what to do with it, so I treated it like I would a broccoli cauliflower casserole and cut it up along with chopped finely carrots and onions and seasonings and added cream of chicken soup -2 cans and cooked ground turkey topped with shredded 3 cheeses and baked for 1 and a half hours and…….yummmmmy !