Romanesco Cauliflower with a Leek and Pistachio Pesto

So I fell off the wagon for a bit.  I'm not going to elaborate too much, I'll just say I was overwhelmed for a bit with life but I want to try and make the blog a more regular part of my life.  I've got a handful of recipes I'm really proud of that I'd like to share, one of which is a recipe I plan on using in Whole Foods Hillcrest, if I can ever pull myself away from my responsibilities as "the gelato guy" for a few moments to get the ball rolling on that new project.  Until then, however, I'll be bringing in lots of unique gelato and sorbet flavors that will be exclusive to Whole Foods.  I've been talking with the guys at Bottega Italiana, whom we source our gelato from and who've done a wonderful job with my requests thus far.  Bringing in several new flavors and putting up with my incessant nagging, I really appreciate these guys for their cooperation and their product.  I'll be in Seattle next week, where the headquarters are located, so I might go checkout their retail location and steal some ideas from them.  Be on the lookout for Curry, Honey and Ginger, and Black Sesame gelatos in addition to the Lemon Rosemary, Lime and Cardamom, and Hibiscus sorbets.  I like visitors, so if you're in the San Diego area and get excited about frozen deserts then I'd love to hear your feedback on the new flavors.  If you're a diehard gelato fan, they want me to update the Hillcrest Whole Foods facebook and twitter pages when the new flavors come in, if you're into that kinda thing.

Suzie's Farm has some of the most beautiful produce in San Diego.  If you've been to the farmers markets then you've had to notice a few tables adorned with several baskets filled with unique little gems like pea tendrils, lambs quarter, gigantic black radishes, stinging nettles, and an assortment of sprouts and microgreens that can only inspire a young, aspiring chef.  Behind these tables you'll generally find a very enthusiastic staff who share an equally genuine admiration of the food.  They don't give you the hard sell, when they talk about how much they like the new variety of arugula that they just started growing, you bet your ass you're leaving with at least one bagful of it.  So when you see this giant head of green fractals, what are you inspired to do?  I wanted to highlight the lime green color, so somewhere along the way I decided a leek and pistachio pesto would be a great idea.  I really adore leeks, and I feel like I always use them in the same manner.  When I go to a restaurant I expect to be surprised, so I feel it's necessary to think outside the box when cooking at home as well.  The pesto has an uncanny resemblance to guacamole, which turned out better than expected.  Anyhow, this is what I used:

1 medium head Romanesco or other Cauliflower of your choice, broken into florets
2 medium sized leeks, trimmed, and sliced
1/3 cup of shelled pistachios (try to find raw, unsalted)
2 garlic cloves
1 small handful of parsley
olive oil
half a lemon
salt
pepper


Preheat your oven to 425 F


Start by steaming the Romanesco until tender, but not soggy, in fact a little underdone would probably be just right.  Pull the Romanesco out of the steamer and let it steam dry itself as much as possible (if it's wet the pesto will have trouble sticking).  Pour a tablespoon or two of olive oil in a medium sauce pan, toss in the leeks and a heavy pinch of salt.  Saute the leeks over medium heat for a few minutes then reduce the heat to low, and let the leeks sweat for a while, 30 minutes wouldn't hurt, stirring occasionally until they almost look like they could be starting to caramelize.


Put the garlic in your food processor and pulse a few times to mince it.  Add the pistachios and pulse a few more times, then add the leeks, parsley, another pinch of salt and a few generous grinds of pepper.  Turn on your processor and slowly add maybe a third of a cup or so of olive oil, possibly more if you like a smoother consistency (mine came out like a chunky paste, and it was decadent).  I put about a third of the pesto into a bowl, added the Romanesco and tossed until the pesto was evenly distributed.


Spread out the Romanesco on a sheet pan so there's just a bit of space between each floret.  Squeeze the lemon over the cauliflower.  Put the sheet pan on the top rack of your oven for 12-15 minutes or until some of the fractals barely start to brown.  Pile up the florets on a plate, zest a small amount of lemon over top and serve.  Seriously good.


I shared these with some friends last night and they were a big hit, so I'll probably make more again tomorrow since I still have so much pesto left, and unlike guacamole which would be brown by now my pesto is still a rich green color!  Pictures will come tomorrow!