The kitchen
has truly come to be the place where all cultures meet. Mostly, it’s peaceful.
I often talk
of keeping things pure, upholding tradition. I believe in that with my heart. But
when I want to be creative? All cultural barriers go down, and every ingredient
is fair game for my dinner.
Like tonight.
I saw a recipe for roasted Romanesco cauliflower on a vegan site and it got me
started pulling out the ingredients. Cauliflower is trendy right now, and with
good reason. It is a wonderful vehicle for all kinds of interesting flavors.
And it is healthful, too.
Bring on the
citrus flavor! Preserved lemons: Morocco. Macadamia nut oil with lemon myrtle:
Australia. (Thanks, John at
He Needs Food!)
A little
meat, for good measure. Pancetta: Italy. (Definitely NOT vegan.)
Some alcohol
for depth. Vermouth: France.
Spices for
zing. Pimentón: Spain. Aleppo pepper: Syria. Black pepper: India.
Tonight, I
was all over the map – or globe, as it were.
~ David
Roasted Romanesco Cauliflower
2 medium
heads Romanesco cauliflower (glad you had these,
Larry’s Veggies!)
1 cup dry vermouth
6 tablespoons
extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons
macadamia nut oil with lemon myrtle
1 large
shallot, chopped
2 large
leeks, washed and chopped
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 preserved
Moroccan lemon, peel only
2 teaspoons
smoked paprika
1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper
1/2 teaspoon
salt
1/2 teaspoon
pepper
2 ounces pancetta
grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Preheat oven
to 400°F. Trim stem, if
necessary, so that the cauliflowers sit evenly. Place them in a large pot that
has a lid. Carve an X a third of the way down into the top of each cauliflower.
Pour the vermouth over top of the cauliflowers, gently prying open the place
when you cut the X so that the vermouth seeps down.
In a small
bowl, combine olive oil and macadamia nut oil with diced shallot, chopped
leeks, lemon juice, spices, salt and pepper. Pour over the cauliflower, again
prying open the X to let the flavors in.
Bake for 40
minutes, then remove the lid, sprinkle with pancetta, and cook for another
10-15 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve with a grating of
Parmigiano-Reggiano. It may be served hot or at room temperature.
Serves 4.
Gerlinde de Broekert
March 19, 2016 at 3:53 pmI just love this David, our world is becoming smaller and smaller. We are so lucky to get to play with all these wonderful ingredients. You made a beautiful dish, I love all the different flavors.
Cocoa & Lavender
March 19, 2016 at 5:42 pmThanks, Gerlinde – we are so very lucky to have all these flavors at our fingertips. And, if not, they are just a click away in this day and age.
Unknown
March 19, 2016 at 5:24 pmYum! Anything I can substitute for the Aleppo pepper?
Cocoa & Lavender
March 19, 2016 at 5:41 pmHi Peg! There are many options. Aleppo pepper is slightly hot, and very flavorful. We have many chiles in our region that would work beautiful instead of the Aleppo – nothing too hot, though!
Andrea_TheKitchenLioness
March 19, 2016 at 5:50 pmDavid, looks like a delightfully different way to serve cauliflower or as we call it "Blumenkohl" (but you knew that, of course) – a vegetable that we eat a lot around here and have treasured for the longest time.
Noch ein schönes Wochenende – it is rather cold around here, absolutely no sunshine in sight …
Liebe Grüße auch an Mark!
Andrea & Co.
Cocoa & Lavender
March 20, 2016 at 1:56 pmI wonder why cauliflower, in all its different forms and iterations, is not popular. Maybe we are finally getting there! We love it, too, Andrea – and the Romanesco is a real favorite.
John - heneedsfood
March 19, 2016 at 9:37 pmNow that's a flavour explosion, David, featuring the most beautiful vegetable around. Well, I think it is, anyway. The united nations on a plate!
Cocoa & Lavender
March 20, 2016 at 1:57 pmIt is such a beautiful thing, isn't it? And the fact that it tastes as good as it is pretty makes it all the better. The macadamia nut oil with lemon myrtle really added a nice layer of flavor!
Bizzy Lizzy's Good Things
March 19, 2016 at 10:48 pmWow David, looks and sounds quite divine. I'm not sure we can readily get those caulis here.
Cocoa & Lavender
March 20, 2016 at 1:58 pmI hope you can, Liz – I think I have seen them in Aussie farmers market sites. Keep an eye out!
Lenny P
March 20, 2016 at 12:43 amTonight's dinner included oven roasted cauliflower painted with extra virgin olive oil, sprinkled with Hawaiian sea salt and black pepper. Not quite so adventurous as your offering but quite lovely just the same.
Cocoa & Lavender
March 20, 2016 at 2:09 pmThat sounds really great, Lenny! I have yet to meet a roasted cauliflower I haven't loved! Hope all is well with you both!
Paola
March 20, 2016 at 7:24 amI have been looking for a good cauliflower recipe – love this, cannot wait to make it
Cocoa & Lavender
March 20, 2016 at 1:59 pmLet me know what you think, Paola! If you can't find all the ingredients just make fun substitutes!
Provence WineZine
March 20, 2016 at 1:19 pmLeave it to you to combine all those amazing flavorS! I love cauliflower, too, and just yesterday made a cauliflower pie with a potato crust!
Cocoa & Lavender
March 20, 2016 at 1:59 pmThat cauliflower pie sounds great, Susan – you need to tell me more!
Chef Mimi
March 20, 2016 at 3:05 pmLovely! And I really love the global flavors! No rules in the kitchen, right?!!!
Cocoa & Lavender
March 21, 2016 at 2:24 pmNo rules, except when there ARE rules, Mimi!
Unknown
March 20, 2016 at 6:47 pmThis sounds wonderful! Is there any substitute for the Aleppo pepper?
Cocoa & Lavender
March 21, 2016 at 2:24 pmHi Peg – see my response to your first post!
Inger @ Art of Natural Living
March 20, 2016 at 11:08 pmWonderful things get made from shaking up old patterns, David! Your dish looks amazing! I have never had macadamia nut oil with lemon myrtle, but I love it straight (can turn ordinary scrambled eggs into something exciting). In fact it was so much cheaper in Europe I had some sent to my daughter when she was studying there and said all I wanted for mother's day was for her to carry it home.
Cocoa & Lavender
March 21, 2016 at 2:25 pmI love macadamia nut oil – you are so right, Inger, it is good on its won. With the lemon myrtle, it is amazing!!
Valentina
March 21, 2016 at 12:02 amI so want to travel here! I've always thought Romanesco is so fascinating — it's the coolest vegetable ever to look at. The beautiful preserved lemon, along with the other delicious spices is making my mouth water!
Cocoa & Lavender
March 21, 2016 at 2:26 pmThanks, Valentina – I love having jars and jars of preserved lemons from our winter crop. They are good on so many dishes!
Cheri Savory Spoon
March 21, 2016 at 10:26 pmHi David, I like that fact that this recipe is all over the map, just bought a Romanesco cauliflower at the farmers market Saturday and needed a plan. Will be preparing this tomorrow night, love this flavors. Beautiful pics too!!!
Cocoa & Lavender
March 22, 2016 at 2:46 pmSadly, they weren't at our market this past weekend. I wanted another one! Hope you enjoy it, Cheri!
Marcelle
March 22, 2016 at 4:41 amWow, David! I've never had Romanesco cauliflower, but this post and your pictures definitely have me wanting to try it 🙂 Such pretty food!
Cocoa & Lavender
March 22, 2016 at 2:48 pmTo me, Marcelle, it is one of the most beautiful vegetables… and it even tastes good!
Sippity Sup
March 22, 2016 at 3:21 pmI'm back in Los Angeles from Nicaragua and heading to Florida tomorrow. I'm spending my one morning home to catch up on my favorite blogs. This worldly influenced one-dish-wonder seems perfectly apropos to my diverse travel itinerary. GREG
Cocoa & Lavender
March 23, 2016 at 2:22 pmGreg – Glad C&L made the cut! You must be exhausted… can't wait to read about your trip.
Jill @ Teatime in Paris
March 23, 2016 at 2:39 pmDavid, you're brilliant. So glad I popped in and saw this wonderful looking dish. You've given me great inspiration for this weekend, as I have 13 of us over for Easter weekend and one of them is vegan – only found out after making a large pot of lamb tagine in advance for Sunday, ahem. Love, love, love the romanesco cauli and spices. Merci!
Cocoa & Lavender
March 23, 2016 at 2:47 pmJill – this will be perfect for a vegan! Just leave off the pancetta! 🙂 And it will smell great alongside your tagine! Wish I were in Paris this weekend!
Colette (Coco)
March 23, 2016 at 7:42 pmD, this looks crazy delicious! I'm going to see if I can find some romanesco tonight while I look for the lemon balm for Andrea's cake. xoox
Cocoa & Lavender
March 24, 2016 at 9:54 amI hope you found some Romanesco cauliflower out there! And lemon balm – although that would be easy for you to grow year round!
ChgoJohn
March 27, 2016 at 2:20 amYou may have circled the globe to get to your kitchen, David, but just look at the result. The flavors you've selected elevate this to heights unseen by any cauliflower that I've ever served. I cannot wait for our farmers markets to open. I'll be on the lookout for some fresh Romanesco. Thanks for sharing, David. Happy Easter to your both!
Cocoa & Lavender
March 29, 2016 at 2:13 pmThanks, John – Happy Easter to you, too! I hope the food around your table was wonderful!
Shwetablog
April 25, 2016 at 8:36 amnice
Cocoa & Lavender
April 25, 2016 at 2:11 pmThanks, Garima!