Romanesco/ Cauliflower/ Broccoli
A few weeks back, Portland, Ore., restaurant Kachka held a pop-up dinner at Nick Balla and Cortney Burns’ Duna to celebrate chef Bonnie Frumkin Morales’ new cookbook, “Kachka: A Return to Russian Cooking” (Flatiron Books, 400 pages, $40). One of the highlights of the evening’s menu was Morales’ vegetarian take on classic schnitzel featuring cauliflower.
Kachka isn’t alone in embracing crispy preparations of this often underappreciated vegetable. From the sweet-and-sour Asianinspired variations at currently closed Juhu Beach Club in Oakland to a buttermilk-fried version at Brenda’s French Soul Food on San Francisco’s Polk Street, fried cauliflower has been popping up all around the Bay Area.
For my riff on Morales’ recipe, I used the spiky, chartreuse-hued romanesco, but the recipe would work equally well with broccoli.
Remove the leaves and trim the bottoms of 2 medium romanesco and slice into ½-inch steaks. Place the steaks into a steamer basket fitted in a large pot filled with a couple of inches of simmering water, and cook until slightly tender but still firm, about 8 minutes.
Meanwhile, whisk together ½ cup water, ½ cup lemon juice, ¼ cup Dijon mustard, 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 tablespoon kosher salt, 2 teaspoons minced garlic and ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.
Pour half of the mixture into a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Place the steamed romanesco steaks on top, then pour the remaining mixture over the steaks and let marinate at room temperature for at least one hour or refrigerate overnight.
Place a large skillet over medium-heat and fill with 2 inches vegetable oil. Prepare three shallow bowls: Fill one with 1½ cups allpurpose flour. In the second, whisk together 2 large eggs, 1 tablespoon water and a pinch each of kosher salt and pepper. Fill the third with 2 cups panko breadcrumbs. Remove the steaks from the marinade, shaking off any excess, and dredge each steak in the flour followed by the egg mixture and finally in a generous coating of the breadcrumbs.
When the oil is shimmering hot, about 350 degrees, fry the steaks — in batches if necessary — until golden brown and crispy, about 3 to 5 minutes per side.
Serve hot with a squeeze of lemon.