Romanesco

Romanesco showed up at the farm stand and who can resist this look? Not me!
I thought it was the wildest looking vegetable I had ever seen and would surely shock the family.

Romanesco is compared to cauliflower but it tastes more like broccoli. It has an almost nutty flavor to it.
I steamed the whole head stalk side down as I read online to do and it cooked easily. I made a topping of tomato concasse, chopped garlic and a little olive oil simmered for about 20 minutes and seasoned with salt and pepper. Then I tossed on some fresh basil  I got at the store because our crazy weather has killed off the basil outdoors.

I served this with a little penne that I buttered and shaved some fresh Parmesan on top. It was a light dinner and perfect for leaving room in my tummy for Halloween candy! The boy racked up the chocolate on his neighborhood tour of Halloween duty. He does not like candy so it is up to me to get rid of it!

I have included a link about Romanesco which is supposed to be around through November. I think it would look great on that Thanksgiving table. Maybe I could sculpt some alien looking garnishes to set around it....yeah, maybe I should cut back a little on the sugar.