Roast romanesco with lemony leek dressing

Photo: Simon Lambert

Romanesco is one of those vegetables that stops you in your tracks as it is striking visually. Chartreuse in colour with spirally points, it looks like a cross between cauliflower and broccoli. It has a firm texture like cauliflower and a slightly nutty flavour. Cook it as you would cauliflower by steaming, roasting, baking, sauteing, eating raw and so on. For this simple dish I cut it into thick steaks and spooned the dressing generously over.

Serves 6

Preparation 15 minutes

Cooking 20 minutes

Skill Easy

Ingredients

1 romanesco

4 Tbsp olive oil

1 (100g) leek, sliced into 2mm rounds

3 cloves garlic, sliced thinly

¼ tsp fennel seeds, lightly crushed

Pinch chilli flakes

1 tsp oregano

1 lemon, zest and 2 Tbsp juice

1 tsp honey

¼ tsp salt

Freshly ground pepper

Method

Preheat the oven 190degC.

Cut the romanesco into (approx) 1.5cm-thick slices. Don’t worry if some of the slices fall apart — just add them alongside the slices.

Drizzle with a tablespoon of oil and season with a little salt and pepper.

Place on to a baking paper-lined oven dish and roast for 20 minutes or until golden and tender.

Meanwhile make the lemony leek dressing.

Add the remaining olive oil to a medium-sized fry pan.

Add the sliced leeks and cook gently over a moderate heat for 5 minutes, add the garlic and fennel seeds and cook until the garlic starts to go golden and the leeks have a little texture and colour.

Add the chilli flakes, oregano, lemon zest and juice. Season with salt and pepper. Stir to combine and taste. Adjust if necessary.

When the romanesco is golden and tender, spoon over the lemony leeks and enjoy!