Cut off the leaves, toss with a little olive oil and sea salt and roast in a 375 degree oven until they start to crisp. Pickled. Start checking them after 4 or 5 minutes or when you start to hear popping sounds. Cut the base of romanesco if a thick stem protrudes beyond the florets. 2. Toss them with a bit of oil, salt & pepper and roast them as chips. The leaves of romanesco, like many other brassicas (such as cabbages) are superhydrophobic. If you can, prepare to be rewarded with a sweet, nutty flavour and crisp texture that makes this showoff taste every bit as good as it looks. 1. This video shows how water repellent they are. Romanesco grows much like cauliflower, with thick stalks and wide, rough leaves. Although the plant is generally grown for the thick bulb, you can also take the smaller leaves that form when the plant is young. Leave a large space for growing romanesco broccoli, as it is not only wide but needs plenty of nutrients to grow the huge heads. Don’t let that stop you! Just bake broccoli leaves like you would kale chips. Something I discovered, by accident, when a few stowaways landed in a pan of roasting florets. Sow from spring to midsummer to give a succession of curds.

Sowing Romanesco Cauliflower Seed. Grow it for yourself and you may struggle to bring yourself to eat this good looker. (I recommend roasting romanesco or lightly steaming it.) These are used much like spinach or collard greens. The plant is hardy in USDA growing zones 3 to 10 and can grow well into fall in temperate areas. Just when you thought cauliflower could get no cooler (exhibit A, exhibit B, exhibit C), it turns out those often-discarded leaves possess a culinary magic of their own. As nice as romanesco is to look at, it’s even better to eat. You can also pickle radishes if you are craving that vinegar flavor. Remove the mid-rib, tear or chop the supple leaves , and mix them into a saute. The stem should be flush with the base of the romanesco. Kohlrabi greens are thick and taste best when cooked or steamed, but they are also eaten chopped in salads. Watch carefully as they can get too brown rather quickly (a little brown around the edges is good, though). Pickled radishes are common in Korean cuisine, try this recipe for Korean Style Pink Radish Pickles.. Sautéed These Spicy Quick Pickled Spring Radishes will be ready to eat in no time, and these Pickled Radishes for Tacos sound perfect for summertime taco nights!

Harvesting kohlrabi leaves in early spring is the best time to get flavorful, tender greens. The central head gets large, and the entire plant can span 2 feet in diameter. Romanesco appears to be part psychedelic broccoli, part alien life form, but it's actually a cousin of cauliflower. There are so many ways you can eat your broccoli leaves.