Lemony Roasted Romanesco
Updated: Mar 10, 2021
Chameleon Eyes for dinner, anyone? I spotted this gorgeous miracle of nature's engineering at a local grocery store and knew it had to come home with me. I love to find new things for my kids to try, and I knew they’d be intrigued by the interesting shape of Romanesco cauliflower. The produce clerk came up while I was taking a picture and choosing a head to bring home and said, “Ah! Space cauliflower! Isn’t it fun?” When I brought it home and showed it to my kids, my son thought the individual florets looked like chameleon eyes. So call it what you want—space cauliflower, chameleon eyes, or Romanesco—as long as you try it! I roasted it up in a lemony, garlicky, yummy way. I hope you’ll like it! My family did.
Lemony Roasted Romanesco
(Space Cauliflower, Chameleon Eyes, your choice)
Ingredients:
Two small heads of Romanesco cauliflower*
1/3 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
Juice of ½ to 1 medium lemon (depending on how lemony you like your veggies)
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Prepare the Romanesco head as you would traditional cauliflower by cutting off and separating the florets. The stalk is edible so you can also chop that up as well if you wish. Arrange the florets on the baking sheet. Combine the olive oil, garlic (use a garlic press or mince finely), lemon juice, salt, and black pepper in a small dish or jar. Drizzle over the florets and stir with a spatula to coat evenly. Roast for 15 minutes and stir; then roast an additional 5-10 minutes until the Romanesco florets can be pierced with a fork but still have a little give.
Notes:
*Save the stalk and leaves to throw in a smoothie! They’re edible and nutritious!
*This recipe also works beautifully with a large head of regular cauliflower instead of Romanesco.