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! And if you’re feeling ambitious, make a whole meal out of it with this curry cauliflower rice too. All the flavors in these three dishes meld together perfectly!
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
Crispy Curry Roasted Broccoflower
Ingredients
- 1 large head of broccoflower cut into small florets, can substitute regular broccoli or cauliflower
- 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
- 1/4 teaspoon curry powder
- 1/4 teaspoon garam masala
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon cilantro, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- Line a baking sheet with foil and grease.
- Combine dry ingredients into a shallow bowl.
- Combine egg and milk in a small bowl and whisk together.
- Dip florets first into the egg mixture, coating well and then into the breadcrumb mixture in batches.
- Spread out on baking sheet.
- Roast for 25-30 minutes, tossing once.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
I can’t wait to try this recipe at home, it looks very tasty!
Wow! If you didn’t make this look so delicious, I probably would buy it as a home decoration! What a unique veggie turned into a delicious side dish!
absolutely scrumptious
Forgive me if I’m missing something, but isn’t the part ‘making the breadcrumb mixture’ missing in the recipe?
It’s all there in the recipe. Step #3 says to combine all the dry ingredients in a small bowl, that’s the breadcrumb mixture. Then you dip the broccoflower in the egg/milk mixture then roll it in the breadcrumbs.
Sorry, Jeanine, didn’t see your post before I did mine. I used standard broccoflower, blended together garlic (lots of garlic…no vampires here!) lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, sweet Hungarian paprika and marjoram and tossed that with the florets. I then mixed dried breadcrumbs (next time I’ll use fresh toasted crumbs…really don’t like the flavor of the ‘store bought’ dried ones) and peccorino romano and sprinkled that over the florets on the pan. Cooked at 400 for 15 minutes then turned, resprinkled, and cooked about 20 minutes more. Very tasty!
Actually your picture is of romanesco cauliflower. It’s similar to broccoflower, but its own beast. You could treat them exactly the same, of course. I roast a lot of broccoli, but I haven’t tried the breadcrumbs either. Don’t like curry, but I’m going to tweak the recipe and definitely use the crumbs! Thanks for the inspiration.
romanesco is the name for the green cauli you have used and pictured here. broccoflower is the name for green cauliflower that does not have the spiky fractals. they are interchangeable in recipes with regard to taste; but the mouthfeel of romanesco is much more entertaining, I think!
So…this thing comes up in my Google Reader and I’m like—- WHAT THE?? WHAT IS THAT?! So I click on it and it opens in its own window. Now I’m like 2 millimeteres away from my screen going, WTF is that?!?!?!? If only I learned how to read…..
I never realized those were broccoli flowers. This dish looks amazing!
No, you definitely haven’t been living under a rock, although I have eaten this before. I bought some at the farmer’s market last year, although it had a different name – Romanesco. I like Broccoflower better – it definitely describes it more clearly. My husband thought it was so cool looking he took pictures of it and everyone he showed the pictures to had never seen it before. You’re not alone in your excitement for it just based on its appearance!