Roasted Romanesco Tarragon and Olives

This roasted romanesco with tarragon, olive and lemon is a healthy side dish to any meal. 

Romanesco is the ultimate confused vegetable. Is it broccoli or is it cauliflower? It is known as romanesco cauliflower, broccoli romanesco,  or roman broccoli. It is a variety of cauliflower, not a cross between broccoli and cauliflower, as is often thought. Its taste is very similar to cauliflower, but it is nuttier, sweeter, and with a softer texture when cooked. It is in season from late fall through winter. You can usually find them at your local farmer’s market, which is where I found mine. When selecting them be sure to look for a firm head with no signs of discoloring or yellow buds. To store them, cover in a damp paper towel, wrap loosely in plastic wrap, and place stem side up in the refirgerator. It will keep fresh for about a week. To prepare, wash and cut just as you would a cauliflower.

I’m having a crisis, a food crisis. I’ve been avoiding the blog, because I’m having a hard time coming to terms with the truth. The hubby and I have decided to keep practicing the plant based diet after Lent is over. We plan on eating like normal human beings one day a week. One day a week!!! ” What about cheese? No more cheese!”, is all that keeps going through my head.

I have been having some health problems, in the last 3 years, that have caused me a lot of discomfort. Medicine hasn’t helped or any other doctor recommendation, and I have finally reached the point where I would try anything to make it better. Well, just in the first week of cutting out all animal products from my diet, most of my symptoms disappeared, thus our decision to stick to this plant-based “nonsense”. Surprisingly my hubby is on board with this, not only to be supportive towards me, but because he has seen an increase in energy and his day-to-day life, and because frankly he feels good.

Don’t worry, I’m not making this a vegan or plant-based blog. I hate labels, what if I start calling this a vegan blog and one month later I change my mind? We’re hoping that by eating animal products one day a week we won’t feel too deprived and be able to keep this going for longer than 40 days. I don’t know, we’ll see how it goes.

The Recipe: Roasted Romanesco Tarragon and Olives

You can eat Romanesco raw, steamed, sautéed, roasted, and boiled. We like it roasted the best, but it is great in pasta, mashed with potatoes, in soups, or raw in salads. Enjoy!

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Roasted Romanesco Tarragon and Olives

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 2 servings

Author Dora Stone

Ingredients

• 2 heads Romanesco cauliflower, cut into florets
• 1 tbsp. Olive oil
• 1 ½ tbsp. Olives, green, manzanilla, sliced
• 1 tbsp. Tarragon, fresh, roughly chopped
• 2 tsp. Lemon juice, fresh
• ¼ tsp. Lemon zest

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. In a large bowl combine romanesco, olive oil, salt, and pepper and toss to coat.
3. Place romanesco on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and cover with foil. Roast for 30 min.
4. Uncover and raise oven temperature to 400F. Roast for 15 more minutes.
5. Remove romanesco from oven and combine with fresh tarragon, lemon juice, lemon zest, and olives. Adjust seasoning and serve.

Chef's Notes

This recipe will also work with cauliflower.

Here are some other ways to use romanesco:

Romanesco, celery root and Broccoli Soup – pineappleandcoconut.com

Linguine with romanesco and scampi – latartinegourmande.com

Romanesco and sweet potato gratin – cookinginsens.wordpress.com