Ever get lost staring at a beautiful pattern in nature? That often happens to me with Romanesco, one of the most interesting vegetables in the world to admire. Each floret is like a fractal, providing geometric wonder.

Romanesco is an old Italian variety of Cauliflower that is light green in color and forms its head in spiked cones. The flavor is like a mild-Cauliflower with hints of Broccoli. What do you do with it? Romanesco is prepared basically like you would with its creamy-white cousin, Cauliflower. Simply cut the florets from the core to then steam, boil, sauté or roast. My favorite way? Romanesco florets boiled or steamed until fork-tender then drizzled with browned salted butter (butter melted in a pan until it becomes brown and oily) is so good!

Beautiful fractals that naturally occur on Romanesco turn into delicious nooks and crannies for butter or olive oil and seasonings to seep into when cooked.

I started a collection of inspiring Romanesco recipes on a Pinterest board here. In spite of its growing popularity, Romanesco is still a specialty crop and is therefore not a vegetable commonly found on many produce department shelves.