I have a whole repertoire of recipes that I pull out of my hat in lieu of ordering food in. This Romanesco recipe is one of them, as often a whole head is my lunch or dinner.
Romanesco broccoli is in fact not broccoli at all. It’s actually a type of cauliflower, and is one of the more unique-looking vegetables. Romanesco is named after the capital city of Rome, and it’s been around since the 16th century. However it’s still not always easy to find, so cauliflower also does the trick. This Romanesco recipe was actually inspired by Jean-Georges’ roasted cauliflower at abcV. The elements of the pomegranate, meyer lemon, mint, and yogurt sauce take this Romanesco recipe to the next level.
Ingredients
1 head Romanesco cauliflower
Olive oil
Salt for boiling
4-5 sprigs Mint
3/4 cup Fresh pomegranate seeds
1 Meyer lemon
Greek Yogurt Dip
1 container of Plain White Moustache Yogurt
2 sprigs Fresh mint
1 tablespoon Meyer lemon juice
Zest of 3/4 Meyer lemon
Olive oil
Fleur de Sel
Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
Fill a large pot with water and generously add salt. Bring the water to a boil and add in the Romanesco top-side-down. Reduce heat to medium and boil for about 20-25 minutes. Remove from the water, and place the Romanesco on a roasting pan. Drizzle the top of the Romanesco with olive oil. If you adequately salted your water for boiling, you won’t need to add any salt to the Romanesco.
Roast the Romanesco in the hot oven for about 20 minutes or until the top is browned. While the Romanesco is roasting, make your mint-yogurt dip. In a bowl, combine the plain yogurt, chopped mint, olive oil, lemon and Fleur de Sel. Mix well together. Zest the lemon on top and keep chilled until ready to serve.
Once the Romanesco is beautifully browned, remove from the oven. Place on a beautiful serving dish and sprinkle pomegranate and chopped mint on top. Garnish with whole mint on top and around the dish. Zest the lemon on top and add two halves of the Meyer lemon on the serving dish. Present with the yogurt dip on the side for a healthy meal. This Romanesco recipe has so much flavor and is loaded with Vitamin C, K and fiber.
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FAQs
Q: Can I substitute regular cauliflower for Romanesco if I can’t find it?
A: Absolutely. You can definitely substitute regular cauliflower in this Romanesco recipe.
Q: How long does this Romanesco recipe take?
A: It takes about 25 minutes to boil the Romanesco, and 20 minutes to roast it. The active time is about 10 minutes though, so it’s not as long of a recipe as it seems.
Q: Can I skip boiling the Romanesco and just roast it?
A: We do not recommend skipping the boiling step, as it makes the Romanesco so tender, you don’t need a knife. If you roast the Romanesco directly in the oven, you’ll miss the essence of this Romanesco recipe.
