Ingredient: Romanesco broccoli
Category: Vegetables
Season: All
Romanesco broccoli or fractal broccoli is an edible flower of the species Brassica oleracea and a variant form of cauliflower. Romanesco broccoli was first documented in Italy (as broccolo romanesco) in the sixteenth century.
It is sometimes called broccoflower, but that name is also applied to green-curded cauliflower cultivars.
Appearance and nutrition:
The vegetable tastes much like cauliflower but is a light green color.
The texture is more tender than cauliflower.
Its buds are arranged in a fractal pattern.
It is rich in vitamin C, fibre, and carotenoids.
Cooking:
In Italy there are a number of recipes dedicated to Romanesco broccoli, in the rest of the world it is usually prepared like normal broccoli.
Like normal broccoli, overcooking Romanesco will result in an unpleasant texture.
The texture is well suited to raw use as crudités . |