Each floret also has a rather long stem. I cut off a number of florets from the bottom of the "head" before I started taking photographs. The florets that were cut off of this head weighed in at 1 1/2 pounds.
After cutting the main stem down some more the head weighed in at just shy of 4 pounds.
Now I've got the challenge of eating 5 pounds of Romanesco, but fortunately it keeps quite well in the refrigerator. The first florets were blanched and shocked to get rid of the aphids that had taken up residence, then I peeled the stems and cut it all into chunks and braised it with garlic, capers, and mild pepper flakes. I think I'll make a pureed soup with some of the rest of it, that will use up a big chunk.
The only other harvests for the week were some Lacinato and Portuguese kales that I used to make kale chips for the first time. Those were good! And easy. Just remove the mid ribs from the kale leaves, tear the leaves into pieces, toss with some olive oil to lightly coat the pieces, spread them out on a baking sheet and bake in a 300F oven for 30 minutes until crisp, sprinkle with salt and serve.
Here's the harvest totals for the week:
Lacinato kale - 5.75 oz.
Portuguese Dairyman's kale - 6.5 oz.
Romanesco broccoli - 5 lb., 6 oz.
The total for the week was - 6 lb., 2.25 oz.
The total for the year is - 692 lb., 3.25 oz.
Harvest Monday is hosted by Daphne on her blog Daphne's Dandelions, head on over and check it out.
I'm sure that broccoli was very delicious. I can't wait till ours is ready for harvest.
ReplyDeleteI've never made kale chips, thanks for sharing your recipe. I'm going to try it tonight! :)
-Mary
Growing my own vegetables is slowly helping me get over the fact that bugs are a way of (gardening) life. Before I started gardening, if I heard that you had to shock aphids off of broccoli before eating it, I would have responded EEK. Now, I read what you wrote and I just think, hey, there a nice tip for when I come across that situation. :-)
ReplyDeleteFunky or not, that's one neat head of broccoli!
I tried growing romanesco this year but turned out to be something completely different. Looks so tasty. Another lovely harvest.
ReplyDeleteGotta love those kale chips! They are unbelievably tasty. That's a huge head of broccoli. I've never grown the Romanesco type. How does the taste compare to 'regular' broccoli?
ReplyDeleteOh how delicious. You have your work cut out for you.Five pounds is a lot of broccoli.
ReplyDeleteMy cauliflower did the same thing earlier this year. I didn't realize that it was still edible like this. I should have harvested it. Any idea as to what causes it?
ReplyDeleteWhat a wild and beautiful head that is of broccoli! Our broccoli has been done for several weeks now and the little bit we are eating currently is from the florets I blanched and froze in early summer. Good but not as wonderful as fresh broccoli. :D
ReplyDeleteInteresting head of broccoli. I bet it tasted wonderful.
ReplyDeleteI have got to try growing that type of broccoli one of these years...they have such interesting florets. 5 lbs is a lot of broccoli, lucky you.:)
ReplyDeleteMary, hope you like the kale chips!
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thyme2garden, you do need to be less squeamish abiyt bugs if you love gardening, especially the good ones. Once upon a time I might have tossed aphid infested broccoli.
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prue, I would think that romanesco would be a challenge to grow on a balcony unless you found a dwarf variety. Try again, it's worth it!
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villager, oh yeah, they were great! Romanesco is more nutty flavored than regular broccoli, and the texture is closer to that of cauliflower. It's actually not a broccoli at all, it's really in a category all by itself.
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Daphne, It's a good thing broccoli isn't fattening. :-)
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Thomas, Cauliflower and romanesco to a lesser degree are fussier to grow than broccoli, temperature changes can cause them to misbehave. I'm not sure why this one grew as it did, weird weather or weird genes or both?
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kitsapFG, I pulled my regular broccoli weeks ago and am missing it. I should have planted some for fall and winter harvesting but I was hoping to get a longer harvest from the first planting. Oh well!
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Barbie, It is tasty!
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Mr. H., 5 lbs is almost too much, it's a good thing I love to eat veggies! Thank goodness all the plants aren't producing at the same time.
I'm growing Romanesco for the first time this winter. Mine isn't quite ready yet. But I'm excited to try it.
ReplyDeleteI think it's delicious.