I encountered a little surprise on my last trip to the grocery market. An alien of a vegetable that I had never come across ever before.
How many of you have seen on of these before? Its bright shade of lime green just screams for attention. I literally spotted it from the other end of the store and ran to see what it was. Turns out, it’s a romanesco! Aka cauliflower’s funkier sibling. I held it in my hands and stared in awe for a few moments. The math geek in my mom and I came out as we examined how the buds intricately grew in fratal, logarithmic, and Fibonacci patterns. Truly awesome.
So this baby came home with us, it’s destiny yet to have been decided. Taking advantage (in a good way) of other summer produce, this Californian veggie got tossed with some grilled zucchini ribbons, cherry tomatoes, and a homemade vinaigrette to make a warm and zingy salad.
Something about char marks is so beautiful. Perhaps it’s because I associate grilling with family trips to Whistler during the summer months. A weekend’s worth of stuff would be packed into the trunk of our car and we would head north towards even fresher air, immersing ourselves in Canadian nature. Our go-to activities included biking through the forests, hiking to see lakes and waterfalls, strolling through the village, and of course barbequing dinner on the patio every night.
Portabello mushrooms, eggplant, scallops, fish, zucchini, and corn would be fired up on a grill with no more than a little salt and pepper. (Oh mah goodness, grilled corn… yumm) The produce picked up from the farmers’ market earlier in the day was best enjoyed simply seasoned and simply grilled.
Which is exactly how the veggies in this dish are prepared, but adding light vinaigrette brings more interest and brightens up a hot dish. Lemon is an appetizing flavour and Meyer lemon fulfills that acidic need without overpowering the delicate romanesco that’s standing centre stage. I noticed I haven’t described what romanesco even tastes like; it’s texture and flavour is nearly identical to cauliflower but maybe a little subtler. Garlic tastes good on all vegetables so I was sure to add a finely minced clove so each bite would get a little pop of garlic.
Ooh la la~ It’s been a quite since I’ve treated the blog to a gif.
Such an easy dish to prepare for an outdoor bbq or picnic party. A few basic ingredients are whisked to make a dressing from scratch and a grill (or even oven) will cook the veggies so you’ll have more time to enjoy the summer weather! The romanesco can be grilled or baked instead of steamed if that means less work for you. My parents prefer their cauliflower on the soft side so steaming was the most suitable for me.
Let’s get cookin’!
- 1 head romanesco cauliflower
- 1½ large zucchini, cut into ribbons
- A handful of cherry tomatoes
- VINAIGRETTE
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp Meyer lemon juice
- ½ tsp Meyer lemon juice
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1½ tbsp olive oil
- ¼ tsp honey
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Break romanesco into large florets and place in a heatproof plate. Season with salt and pepper.
- Put the plate of romanesco in a steamer. Over high heat, steam the romanesco for 10 minutes, beginning the timer after the water comes to a boil.*
- While the romanesco is cooking, preheat an electric or barbeque grill. Once fully heated, lay a layer of zucchini ribbons onto the grill, season with salt and pepper, and grill until char marks develop and ribbons are cooked through, about 3 to 5 minutes.
- To make the vinaigrette dressing, whisk all the ingredients together in a small mixing bowl, or shake in a sealed jar.
- Once romanesco and zucchini finish cooking, arrange on a large serving plate. Top with some halved and some whole cherry tomatoes and serve with the lemon garlic vinaigrette.
P.S. Thanks mom for being my hand model and dressing-drizzler!
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