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A Chef’s Guide to Cooking Romanesco Cauliflower

If you’re looking to brighten up your meals this winter and try something delightfully unusual – we highly recommend adding Romanesco Cauliflower to one of your dishes. 

Read on to find out exactly what this unique vegetable is, where it comes from and how to cook it. 

What is Romanesco and where is it from?

Romanesco, commonly referred to as Romanesco Cauliflower, Roman Cauliflower or even Broccolo Romanesco to give its original Roman name, originated from the Lazio region of Italy around the 15th century. 

This unusual vegetable remained in the city of Rome for a long time, until it was eventually brought to the US and the UK in the early 20th century.  

Its beautiful unique swirling patterns and textures is thought by biologists, such as Dr. Drew Kerkhoff from Kenyon College, to have been encouraged and reinforced by human selection over time. 

Packed full of vitamins, it’s one of the healthiest foods you can purchase – so it’s perfect for making a nutritious, low calorie meal. 

What does it taste like?

It’s not just the beautiful patterns and textures that makes this cauliflower so unique and interesting. 

Romanesco cauliflower tastes much nuttier than ordinary cauliflower, which makes it perfect to roast. In Italy, it’s commonly used as a fresh vegetable when the days start to get chillier.

Best way to cook Romanesco cauliflower

In true Italian fashion, we recommend cooking Romanesco Cauliflower  (or Broccolo Romanesco) in the Autumn or  Winter as part of a warm, hearty meal. The vegetable starts to grow in the Autumn, so it’s the perfect winter vegetable. 

Romanesco is versatile, allowing you to experiment with how to cook it and what to pair it with. However, our chefs recommend that the best way to cook Romanesco Cauliflower is to either:

  • Steam 
  • Boil
  • Roast 

Recipes using Romanesco cauliflower

There are a number of delicious recipes that bring out the full flavour and textures when cooking Romanesco cauliflower.

Creamy Romanesco pasta

To cook Romanesco pasta, our chefs recommend first blanching the cauliflower in a pot of salted boiling water until it starts to soften. 

This will be for around 5 minutes. Make sure not to overcook the Romanesco, otherwise the unique flavour and texture can become dulled. 

Once it’s tender, transfer the florets with a slotted spoon to a bowl filled with ice cold water. Make sure to reserve the water you cooked with for later. 

With a skillet, heat a generous portion of extra virgin olive oil and then add your chosen pasta ingredients. Our chefs recommend garlic anchovies and onions to cook until soft for around 4 minutes. 

Once your chosen ingredients have softened, add the florets to the pan and add seasoning. Adding a couple of bay leaves, raisins and pine nuts or almonds can perfectly accompany the Romanesco. 

Vegetarian Lemon and Garlic Infused Romanesco Cauliflower Roast

This vegetarian recipe keeps the Romanesco at the forefront of the palate. By infusing the cauliflower with garlic and lemon, the flavours of the Romanesco are heightened in the dish.  

To bake, preheat the oven to 220 degrees celsius and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 

Put the Romanesco in the tray and drizzle with olive oil and a good amount of crushed garlic. Give it a mix and then grate fresh lemon zest over the ingredients. Season with salt and pepper and bake for 20 minutes, or until the florets are a lovely golden brown colour. 

If you’d like the dish to be enhanced with lemon, add more zest to your taste. 

There are so many ways you can enjoy cooking with Romanesco cauliflower. It’s the perfect ingredient for experimenting in the kitchen to discover your favourite way of cooking it. 

To purchase any of the products mentioned in the above recipes, and start cooking with Romanesco Cauliflower, browse our fresh food produce and our food cupboard items. 

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