One look at romanesco broccoli and you will be confused wether you are watching a green city of minarets or an alien life form. The interesting thing is that even though the name is romanesco broccoli it isn’t a broccoli; it’s actually cauliflower. However, its texture and flavor is quite similar to our regular broccoli. That’s why we can easily use it in our recipes as a replacement to traditional broccoli. If you're curious about this food don't miss out this article and learn great ways to cook romanesco broccoli.
Choosing and storing the Romanesco Broccoli
Before knowing about the recipes let’s have a look at how to choose and store the romanesco broccoli. Hold a romanesco broccoli in your hand and feel its head. If the head is firm then you have a very fresh veggie. Also a fresh romanesco broccoli head feels dense and heavy for its size. A bright color romanesco is definitely fresh. If the leaves are attached to head and the leaves are fresh then the veggie is fresh too.
To store romanesco broccoli put it in a tightly sealed bag and then refrigerate it. Do not refrigerate it for more than a week as its quality will start to decline after a week. You can also refrigerate chopped romanesco florets in a sealed bag.
Steamed romanesco recipe
To prepare steamed romanesco first steam the whole head of romanesco and then break it into florets (it will look like lots of single minarets). To add some flavour to it, add minced garlic and chopped pitted black olives. Finally pour some red wine vinegar onto it and finish it off with a good drizzle of olive oil.
Blanched Romanesco recipe
Take the Romanesco florets and then put it in hot water. After 2 minutes take it out and put it in an ice cold bath. The ice bath will help to retain its color, flavor and texture. Now that your blanched Romanesco broccoli is ready, add it to your veggie tray, salads or in any cold noodle dishes.
Charred Romanesco recipe
At first heat oil in a saucepan. Then add minced carrot, minced onion, minced celery and thinly sliced chillies or jalapenos. Add salt and then stir it occasionally for 12 – 15 minutes. Then take it off the heat and let it cool.
Now it’s time to char the Romanesco. So, preheat the oven at 450 degrees. Then heat oil in a skillet and add the Romanesco and cook it until its deep brown in color. Then transfer the Romanesco into a roasting pan. Now add to it the sautéed vegetables which we have made some time ago. Also add anchovies and wine into the roasting pan. Then add pepper and salt to it. Then roast them in the oven and toss it when its halfway through. Roast for about 25 – 30 minutes until the liquid evaporates and the Romanesco is soft. Serve hot.
Oriental Romanesco recipe
Stir fry Romanesco florets with bok choy and cabbage in a wok using sesame seed oil. Then add ginger flakes to it. Finally toss it with soy sauce and your oriental romanesco broccoli stir fry is ready.
If you want to read similar articles to Great Ways to Cook Romanesco Broccoli, we recommend you visit our Recipes category.