What We’re Cooking This Week: Romanesco Salad With Mama Lil’s

Jim Dixon wrote about food for WW for more than 20 years, but these days most of his time is spent at his olive oil-focused specialty food business Wellspent Market. Jim’s always loved to eat, and he encourages his customers to cook by sending them recipes every week through his newsletter. We’re happy to have him back creating some special dishes just for WW readers.

Its chartreuse fractal spirals make romanesco look like a vegetable from another planet, but this cauliflower cousin actually comes from Lazio, the Italian province that includes Rome, which is where it got its name. And while I always just chop up cauliflower, I’ll spend the time it takes to break the romanesco head into florets just because they look so cool.

Along with the Fibonacci look, romanesco tastes better than cauliflower’s random inflorescence. Slightly sweet and nutty, it makes a great composed salad, especially when paired with something that’s got a little heat, like Mama Lil’s peppers. And the fact that Howard Lev decided to start a business to make his mother’s pickled peppers preserved in oil while loaded on mushrooms makes the not-too-hot Mama Lil’s an even better companion to the trippy, fractal little buds of romanesco.

Recipe

1 head romanesco

1 small red onion

½ cup Mama Lil’s peppers, chopped

1 bunch cilantro, coarsely chopped (some stems ok)

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Kosher-style sea salt to taste

Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil and drop in the romanesco, stem side down. After 2 minutes, flip it over and cook for 1 more minute (just to be clear, do not wait for the water to return to a boil to start timing; cook a total of 3 minutes from the time the romanesco goes into the pot). When the romanesco is cool enough to handle, slice the florets off at the point where the stem begins to get thick, then pick or cut off the florets in roughly pea-sized pieces. Cut the core and stems into small, bite-sized pieces.

Cut the onion in half from top to bottom, then slice as thinly as possible. Cut the half circle slices into 3 or 4 wedge-shaped pieces, soak them in cold water for about 10 minutes, then drain.

Combine the romanesco, onion, peppers, and cilantro in a large bowl. Add the vinegar, olive oil, and salt; toss well and serve at room temperature.