Sauces, conserves & preserves
Romanesco with romesco
Mixing up the words romanesco and romesco is a common mistake at Riverford as we seem to eat equal amounts of each across the year. So, we thought we’d bring them together on one plate. To clarify, romanesco is the beautiful head of mesmerizing spirals that arrives in late summer. Mathematical perfection in a brassica, Fibonacci would be proud. As the shape and dimensions suggest, it is interchangeable with a cauliflower in most recipes. It is slightly firmer and has a nuttier flavour. The stalks and leaves are usable too. One of the few ‘novelty’ vegetables that tastes as good, if not better, than its more common relatives. romesco, on the other hand, is a classic Spanish roast pepper sauce, enriched with nuts and paprika. You can make the sauce a few days in advance if you like. You can roast and peel your own peppers or use some quality jarred ones to save time.
Cook's notes
You can make the sauce a few days in advance if you like. You can roast and peel your own peppers or use some quality jarred ones to save time.
Ingredients
For the romanesco
- I large Romanesco
- 1 lemon
- small handful of parsley – optional
- salt & pepper
- olive oil
For the romesco sauce:
- 2 red peppers, roasted, cooled and peeled
- 150g cherry tomatoes, roasted and cooled
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 40g toasted flaked almonds, plus extra to garnish if you want
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- dried chilli flakes, to taste
- balsamic vinegar
Method
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Step 1
Preheat your oven to 200°C/Gas 6.
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Step 2
Trim the romanesco into bite-sized pieces, using as much of the stalk as you can. Keep the leaves to one side. Toss the pieces in a roasting tray with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and a generous seasoning of salt and pepper. Roast for about 20 minutes, or until tender and slightly coloured. You can roughly chop the leaves and add them to the tray at the halfway point, if you like, or keep them to use as greens in another dish.
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Step 3
Meanwhile, make the sauce. Pop the roasted peppers and tomatoes into a food processor, along with the garlic, almonds, paprika, and a small pinch of chilli. Add 1 tbsp of vinegar, 1 tablespoon of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Blitz into a smooth-ish sauce. Taste and tweak with vinegar, chilli and salt to your liking. Alternatively, you can make the sauce by bashing everything together in a large pestle and mortar, or roughly chopping everything on a board for a more rustic feel. The sauce will keep well for 4 days in the fridge, if you’d like to make it in advance.
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Step 4
Remove the romanesco from the oven and finish with a good squeeze of lemon.
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Step 5
Spoon some sauce onto a plate and serve the roasted romaneso alongside, garnished with some toasted almonds and a scattering of parsley of you fancy. You can serve as individual plates or as a single sharing plate.