Roasted Romanesco and Chestnuts with Cashew Cream

The perfect side dish in the late fall and dead of winter comes as a big serving of romanesco. If you're not familiar with romanesco, it's part of the brassica family (a cruciferous vegetable) and tastes rather like a piece of cauliflower. It has an attractive form and color as it's swirled in fractals and a gleams bright green and yellow hues. Being that romanesco is a cruciferous vegetable, it's best to eat cooked. Raw cruciferous vegetables contain goitrogens, which are substances that block the uptake of iodine in the thyroid gland. In turn, this interrupts thyroid hormone production. 

In my last post, I talked about this seasonal affinity I've been having with chestnuts. For the Chestnut Pistachio Cookies, I was entirely enamored by making a grain free flour out of chestnuts. This recipe is keeping the fresh chestnuts whole as they become crisp on the outside with a slight tender chew against the romanesco when roasted. Fresh chestnuts are truly a seasonal ingredient most found in the winter time. If you can't find fresh ones, feel free to forgo them in the recipe and add some sprouted seeds instead for variance on texture. You will find canned or jarred chestnuts in the grocery store, but be extremely wary of additives in the liquid that preserves them. 

Ingredients 

Romanesco

• 1 large head of romanesco
• 1 cup chestnuts, steamed and peeled
• 1 tablespoon ghee, melted
• dash of nutmeg 
• celtic sea salt + pepper 

Cashew Cream

• 1/2 cup sprouted cashews 
• 2 - 3 tablespoons water, hot
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast 
• 1 teaspoon ACV or lemon juice 
• celtic sea salt + pepper 

Method 

Wash and chop romanesco into florets. Add a steaming basket to a pot on the stove, then fill with 1" of water and bring to a boil. Place florets inside the steaming basket, cover for 6 - 7 minutes. 

Preheat oven to 400°F. Add florets and chestnuts to a cast iron skillet or baking sheet, toss with melted ghee. Season with celtic sea salt + pepper to taste and add a dash of nutmeg before placing in oven. Bake for 15 minutes, toss quickly, and bake for an additional 10 - 15 minutes until you see slight browning occur. 

Prepare the cashew cream while the romanesco and chestnuts roast. Blend sprouted cashews, hot water, nutritional yeast, ACV or lemon juice until smooth in a high speed blender. Season to taste. 

Pour sauce over the vegetables and chestnuts just before serving. Best hot but I have also been enjoying this leftover cold as a component for meal prep during the week.