Curry flavored, crispy roasted broccoflower bites are a cross between broccoli and cauliflower and make for a fun way to jazz up your typical side dish.

Internet, meet the broccoflower.

I’m going to assume your reaction is similar to mine at the grocery store and somewhere along the lines of “what in hell is that?!”

At least that’s what I’m hoping for otherwise it’s official that I live under some rock having never seen this stegosaurus looking vegetable before.

You can’t see a spiky, almost fluorescent green, new to you vegetable in the store for $1.49 and not pick it up, right?

I actually grabbed this then ran around looking for Ulysses like a kid in a toy store seeking parental approval.

Funny, he wasn’t nearly as excited about my find as I was.

Now humor me and tell me those spikes remind you of the back of a stegosaurus because that’s all I could think about the entire time I was cutting this thing up.

That and trying to remember how long ago it was since Jurassic Park came out (1993 in case you’re wondering, I was 11).

And then since my mind was on dinosaurs, I started thinking about the paleo diet (get it? dinosaurs…paleolithic era…paleo diet..stay with me now) and wondering if broccoflower existed back then.

Wouldn’t you like to spend a day in my head?

It’s a good time.

WHAT IS BROCCOFLOWER?

Besides its funky appearance, broccoflower pretty much acts, smells and tastes exactly like the offspring of broccoli and cauliflower.

Technically, this vegetable is called romanesco or broccoli romanesco.

I actually have this delicious simply roasted romanesco recipe as well if you’re not into the curry flavors of this dish.

But, it also goes by the common name of broccoflower. Which I’m choosing as my preferred name today because I think it’s the most fun!

And to make things even more confusing, those lime green cauliflower you may have seen before…well, they’re a type of broccoflower too.

This version, however, with the sort of pine tree looking florets is the one referred to as Romanesco broccoli.

WHAT DOES BROCCOFLOWER TASTE LIKE?

As you’d probably expect, taste-wise, it’s a dead cross between broccoli and cauliflower. A little milder in flavor than each.

That said, you can treat it just like you would either of those vegetables.

And since roasting is my favorite way to enjoy broccoli and cauliflower most of the time, I figured that’s the way I’d go here with this roasted broccoflower recipe.

Except sassed up with some Indian flava.

Ohh, speaking of…you should totally make this sweet and spicy Indian chicken to go with this!

When we lived in Florida we had Indian neighbors a few houses down from us.

We’d take walks pretty much nightly since we had a puppy Weimaraner at the time who had the energy levels of the energizer bunny and we’d walk past the Indian neighbors house to literally smell the curry seeping out onto the street through closed windows and doors.

That stuff tastes delicious but man, does it linnnnnger.

Point of that little side story?

My house still smells like curry after 24 hours and I only used 1/4 teaspoon of the stuff.

Proceed with caution.

But definitely do it anyway because these mini stegosaurus ridges will make your mouth happy in a crispy, crunchy, curry kind of way.

Glad to have met you, broccoflower.

I see many more roasted broccoflower meals with you in the future!

Love this roasted broccoflower recipe?

Try some of these side dishes too: Girl and the Goat Grilled Broccoli, Roasted Broccoli Cauliflower Parmesan Gratin, Salt and Vinegar Popcorn Cauliflower