Recipe and Photo by Isaac Winburne and Heydon Hatcher

We made the first iteration of this salad for a dear friend a couple of weeks ago. She gushed about it, I posted a quick shot of the dish on my Instagram, and I received a deluge of responses inquiring about what exactly this stunning, fractal alien vegetable was. Since working at the farm, I’ve always thought of the Romanesco cauliflower as Mother Earth’s veggie crown jewel. Much like a rare gem, having access to this brassica while it’s thriving is difficult to boot, since most grocery stores don’t consistently carry this spiraling enchantress. Thus, I feel immensely grateful to the farmers at JBG for cultivating and harvesting this specific crop year after year for us, and equally ecstatic when I see it gracing the market stand.

The beauty of it is at times unbelievable; thus, retaining its bewitching shape for a dish is usually of utmost importance at our house. This recipe is simple as can be, focuses on the unbridled taste + look of the Romanesco, and is dazzling as a side to any meal.

Ingredients

• One head of Romanesco cauliflower (leafy bottom removed)
• Two lemons
• Olive oil
• Salt

Recipe

Lightly shave small heads off of Romanesco and into small bite-size chunks. Make sure to retain beautiful fractals.

After you have removed all heads and cut into bite-sized pieces, keep the stalk! Cut the stalk in half, and then into slanted chunks. The stalk is surprisingly sweet and different in texture from the heads.

Add one hefty drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and stir around from bottom. Repeat this step once more. Stirring from the bottom is important -- so as not to ruin the shapes.

Add 16 grinds of salt and the juice of two lemons. Stir thoroughly. Enjoy!