Romanesco & soya bean bruschetta
Here we are revisiting a vegetable that I consider to be one of the most beautiful around. My previous encounter with it involved a bit of spicy heat, some crunch from fried capers and almonds, with pops of colour from pomegranate and native Australian riberries.
What I’ve created here is another play on colours, textures and flavours. There’s nothing like mixing things up, right?
I’ve kept things on vegetarian side with this one, although some crumbled crispy prosciutto would take it to another level.
My freezer has a bag of soya beans in it pretty much year-round. Handy to have, really, tossed into stews and curries, quickly pan-fried with some bacon; they’re quite the resourceful ingredient. All I’ve done is make a simple purée with the soya beans; nothing too glamorous as I didn’t want it to compete with the other layers.
That stash of beet & blueberry chutney I made recently came in use with many things I knocked together in the kitchen – namely with meaty concoctions, mind you.
I’ve topped the purée with the chutney, then crowned it with wedges of the gorgeous Romanesco that I’ve briefly steamed and pan-seared with spices. There’s crunch, there’s salt, there’s sweet and there’s sour. A great little canapé idea, as well!
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servings
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- 250 g soya beans frozen - plus extra, to garnish
- 75 ml water (5 tbsp)
- ½ tsp ground coriander
- Salt & black pepper to taste
- 1 medium romanesco cauliflower quartered lengthways
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- ¼ tsp mustard seeds
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 tbsp olive oil or butter
- Beet & blueberry chutney recipe link in notes
- Chervil leaves & blueberries to garnish
Ingredients
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- Bring a small pot of water to the boil. Carefully toss in the soya beans and boil for 8 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool for 10 minutes. Place the warm soya beans, water and ground coriander into a jug or small bowl. Using a stick blender, blitz them into a smooth paste. Check for seasoning and set aside.
- Steam the wedges of romanesco for 8 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- Place a small skillet over medium-low heat. Toast the cumin and mustard seeds until golden and aromatic. Do not burn! Put the spices and pinch of salt into a mortar, and pound to a powder using the pestle. Alternatively use a spice grinder.
- Place a large skillet over medium heat, add the oil and carefully lay the wedges of Romanesco into the oiled pan, turning over to coat both cut sides. Immediately sprinkle over a little of the spice-salt mixture, turning when the underside is golden. Sprinkle over a little more of the spice-salt. Set aside as you toast your bread.
- Lightly oil the bread and either grill or griddle it, until toasted.
- To assemble, spread the soya bean mixture over the toasted baguette, top with the chutney, then the cauliflower. Garnish with a few sprigs of chervil, a few blueberries and soya beans.
