Roasted romanesco in our salad is how we're kicking off cooking this year

It can be hard to come off weeks of eating rich fare over the holidays, and head straight into salad city... so a salad like this comes not a second too soon. With crunchy croutons, capers and red onion, you’ll know the satisfaction you’ve come to expect while chomping lately. And yes, that’s roasted romanesco; three cheers for warm salads in January.

Romanesco Broccoli Salad

By Josie Malevich

Also known as Roman cauliflower, romanesco broccoli has a mild, earthy broccoli flavour but a texture closer to cauliflower. Serve it raw, steamed or roasted. What really sets this vegetable apart is its funky shape and vibrant colour, which is nicely showcased in this simple recipe for an Italian-style bread salad.

Note: You can substitute broccoli and/or cauliflower for the romanesco if you like.

Ingredients

• 1 head romanesco broccoli, cut into small florets (about 4 cups)
• 2 cups rustic Italian bread cubes (day old)
• ⅓ cup olive oil
• 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 1 ½ cups halved cherry tomatoes
• ⅓ cup thinly sliced red onion
• ¼ cup loosely packed finely chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tbsp capers

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400F degrees. Blanch romanesco in boiling salted water until tender crisp, about 3 to 5 minutes. Drain well and cool completely.

Meanwhile, toast bread cubes in the oven until lightly golden brown in spots, about 5 to 10 minutes. Cool completely. Toss with 1 to 2 tablespoons of water just to soften them slightly.

Whisk together the oil, vinegar, mustard, garlic, oregano salt and pepper. Toss together the romanesco, bread cubes, tomatoes, onion, parsley and capers in the dressing until well coated. Let stand for 10 to 15 minutes so that the flavours to marry.