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This elegant Christmas table centrepiece will wow your guests and provide an unusual alternative to the predictable side dishes in your festive feast.
What is Romanesco Cauliflower?
It’s a brassica with one of nature’s most amazing designs, giving it the appearance of a mini forest full of Christmas trees.
It tastes like a cross between cauliflower and broccoli, but with a nutty edge to it.
It’s attractive on the outside, but there’s goodness within too.
What Goes Well With This?
It goes well with cheese, as in this recipe, or you could replace white cauliflower with it in Pumpkin Macaroni Cheese
Recipe Tips
Do a test run before the big day.
Keep an eye on the cauliflower in the oven to make sure the tips don’t burn. They will char a little, but this is expected with its irregular shape.
Different ovens will heat up at different rates. Feel free to lower the oven temperature or lower the oven shelf. Go with your instincts.
Romanesco Cauliflower can be blanched, roasted, stir-fired and eaten raw.
Christmas Cauliflower
Ingredients
- 1 Romanesco Cauliflower
- ½ Lemon
- 1 Garlic clove
- 1 tsp Dried Thyme
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- Parmesan for sprinkling on the top
Instructions
- Squeeze the juice of half the Lemon and add it to a bowl.
- Grate 1 Garlic clove and add it to the bowl with the Lemon juice.
- Add 1 tsp Thyme and 2 tbsp Olive Oil and whisk the mixture until it is evenly combined.
- Trim the leaves from the Romanesco Cauliflower and place on baking parchment on a baking tray.
- Pour the Lemon/Oil mixture over the Cauliflower and roast in the oven at 220C Gas 7 425F for 15-20 minutes, or until you can easily run a sharp knife through the Cauliflower.
- Place the roasted Cauliflower on a plate and grate the Parmesan over it, so it looks like snow on a Christmas tree.