More Romanesco Love

I'm still eating my Romanesque veggies (maybe I should've called this Green Food Week). Like its cauliflower cousin (brother, mother, uncle?) it really is better roasted. Though steamed isn't so bad either. It turns a bright green when you steam it. Pretty!

And perfect for Martha Stewart's puree recipe. Steamy veggies, heavy cream, and cheese! We know how much I love cheese. Like bacon, it makes everything better.

Add sautéed leeks, some roasted cauliflower (the white kind), a shallot or two, then serve it with some cheese, and damn.

The curious vegetable plays nicely in a puree. A bright green mixture of veggies and cream and stuff. Come to think of it, I should've added bacon. Next time...

Broccoli Romanesco Puree
Yields 2 servings

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups Romanesco broccoli florets
2 cups cauliflower florets
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 leek, chopped into half-inch rounds
1 shallot, chopped
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup whole milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper, to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Chop the cauliflower into 1-inch florets, toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, sprinkle with salt and paper. Spread the cauliflower over a foil-covered baking pan and roast for about 20 minutes. Cauliflower should begin to look burnt (that's when you know it's REALLY good).

2. Chop the broccoli into 1-inch pieces and steam over boiling water until brightly colored (about 8 minutes). Or for a deeper flavor, roast it with the cauliflower.

3. Heat remaining oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add leeks and shallots, cook until they begin to turn golden brown (about 5 minutes). Add the garlic in the last minute.

4. Add water, the teaspoon of salt, sauteed vegetables and half the roasted/steamed vegetables to blender (reserve half the broccoli and cauliflower for garnish). Blend until smooth. Do this in batches if necessary.

5. Bring milk and cream to a gentle simmer in a saucepan. Add milk-cream mixture to blender with puree, and pulse to combine. Stir mixture into first batch of puree.

6. Season with more salt and pepper if necessary. Garnish with reserved vegetables.

Martha's recipe calls for Parmigiano-Reggiano, but I don't like it. I simply added a few cubes of Italian truffle cheese and called it heaven. But the more I think about it, yeah, that bacon would have been a nice addition.

Wordless Wednesday: Roasted Roman Cauliflower

The Lovely Romanesco Veggie

Is it a broccoli or a cauliflower? Both Serious Eats and Wikipedia call it broccoli, but the woman at the Mar Vista Farmers' Market said it was cauliflower. And even that Wikipedia article refers to it as Roman cauliflower. So the absurdly beautiful vegetable has both an identity crisis and an intriguing fractal pattern of growth. It's even been called alien, poor thing.

Last night I called it dinner.

I'd been looking for one of these since I read somewhere that it was milder than cauliflower (which I hate, unless roasted). So it was with much excitement that I took this baby home to experiment.

First I had to try it raw. What a mistake. It tastes exactly like raw cauliflower: yucky! I don't know how people choke that down. If you're one of those raw cauliflower-loving types, please help me understand the appeal.

With that failed attempt, I opted for the tried-and-true method of oven roasting. A little olive oil, some Adobo seasoning, and into a 400 degree oven it went for 20 minutes. It came out brown and delicious.

I also threw some in a pan with hot olive oil and fried its little fractal patterns until they were brown and crispy. What doesn't taste good fried? (I also steamed some of it, but that's for another post.)

I had a variety of dipping options for my browned goodness, but I opted to indulge in cheesy dip someone had left in my fridge after a party.

And that was dinner. Veggies and cheese. It's mmm, good!