WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS This beautiful, fractal-looking vegetable is perfect for cooking whole, as we do in this showstopper of a dish. For a tender interior and nicely charred exterior, we started with the microwave, partially cooking the romanesco. Then we brushed melted butter over the romanesco and transferred it to the oven to finish cooking and develop some browning. We basted the broiled romanesco with more butter and berbere, a warmly aromatic and highly flavorful Ethiopian spice blend. A bright, cooling yogurt sauce and crunchy pine nuts finished it off. Berbere is available in large supermarkets and by mail-order. If you can’t find a 2- pound head of romanesco, purchase two 1-pound heads, and reduce the
microwaving time in step 2 to 5 to 7 minutes. You can substitute cauliflower for the romanesco.
Serves 4
Total time: 30 minutes
INGREDIENTS
YOGURT-TAHINI SAUCE
- ½ cup whole-milk yogurt
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- ½ teaspoon grated lemon zest plus 1 tablespoon juice
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- Salt and pepper
ROMANESCO
- 1 head romanesco or cauliflower (2 pounds)
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces
- Salt and pepper
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground coriander
- ⅛ teaspoon ground allspice
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 tablespoons toasted and coarsely chopped pine nuts
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro
INSTRUCTIONS
YOGURT-TAHINI SAUCE
- Whisk all ingredients in bowl until combined.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste and set aside until ready to serve.
ROMANESCO
- Adjust oven rack 6 inches from broiler element and heat broiler.
- Trim outer leaves of romanesco and cut stem flush with bottom florets.
- Microwave romanesco and 3 tablespoons butter in large, covered bowl until paring knife slips easily in and out of core, 8 to 12 minutes.
- Transfer romanesco, stem side down, to 12-inch ovensafe skillet.
- Brush romanesco evenly with melted butter from bowl and sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon salt.
- Transfer skillet to oven and broil until top of romanesco is spotty brown, 8 to 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, microwave remaining 3 tablespoons butter, paprika, cayenne, coriander, allspice, cardamom, cumin, and ⅛ teaspoon pepper in now-empty bowl, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and bubbling, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Using pot holder, remove skillet from oven and transfer to wire rack.
- Being careful of hot skillet handle, gently tilt skillet so butter pools to one side.
- Using spoon, baste romanesco until butter is absorbed, about 30 seconds.
- Cut romanesco into wedges and transfer to serving platter.
- Season with salt to taste and sprinkle pine nuts and cilantro over top.
- Serve with sauce.
