Romanesco Broccoli are between the sexiest vegs on the planet, they catch the light in a way that, most times than not, you got some gorgeous pics.

Looking at the detailed pattern of the veggie, it repeats itself ad infinitum, as could be the Fibonacci sequence. Almost nothing is thrown away from this veg, even the most tender leaves are used which, by the way, are really tasty!

This Roasted Romanesco Broccoli with Béchamel Sauce recipes was done on the spur of the moment, following a very “zero waste approach”, during a brain storming photography session with our Appetibilis Lazio team in Viterbo.

1. We opened the refrigerator to scan for ingredients: 1 Romanesco, 1 carrot, 1 courgette, 1 onion, rice flour, chickpeas flour and vegetable oil.
2. Concocting the recipe with the ingredients available was easy: slice the Broccolo, make some vegs broth to use for the béchamel sauce.

Béchamel is a creamy white sauce, one of the five “mother sauces” of classic cuisines, that can be used in lasagna, creamy soups, on veggies roast, over toasts… you name it.

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Recipe: Roasted Romanesco Broccoli with Béchamel Sauce

Ingredients

• 50 g rice flour + chickpeas flour (about 2 tbsp of each type)
• 45 g organic sunflower oil, cold pressed (3 tbsp)
• 500 ml vegetable broth, made earlier (17 fluid oz)
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/3 tsp black pepper (2 rounds of freshly ground peppercorn)
• chopped fresh herbs to taste (we used: rosemary, thyme and sage)

Directions

For the Béchamel sauce start with a roux
– In a sauce pan heat the oil, add the flours and mix well until it has a smooth consistency with no lumps. Take the pan off the heat, add the broth and stir well. Put it back on the heat and keep stirring until the sauce begins to boil. From there another couple of minutes till it thickens. Take it off immediately from the hit, season it with salt & pepper and a pinch of nutmeg (optional).

For Broccoli
– Slice the broccoli in 1/2 cm slices, place them on a tray, season well with salt, pepper, herbs, oil, and let them marinade for about 1 hour.

Than coat each slice with a generous tablespoon of béchamel sauce and place the tray in a pre-heated oven at 180 °C for about 25 minutes (until the top is nicely gratinée).

Serve immediately and… Buon Appetibilis!

Note:
We thought that adding some béchamel would make the broccoli even sexier…

Credits (in alphabetical order):
Orsola Ciriello Kogan Food Styling and Photography
Rosangela Giannoccaro Food and Lifestyle Photography
Simona Scarone Wellness, Food and Lifestyle

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