When I moved to Paris I assumed I’d encounter all kinds of foreign items in the grocery stores; different brands of toothpaste, soap, soft drinks, plastic wrap, garbage bags, razor blades and junk food. But I figured the vegetables would be familiar. I mean, really, a leek is a leek, a tomato is a tomato, a carrot a carrot wherever you go, right?
Then I saw my first chou romanesco.
I knew that France didn’t have a space program, so I figured that they hadn’t imported this bizarre looking vegetable from the planet Voltron or somewhere. My French being nonexistent at the time (and not much better now), I had no idea how to ask, or even understand, what this thing was called. A few weeks ago I finally bought one and brought it to the chef at my little bistro around the corner and asked, in effect, “What the hell is this?”
Chou Romanesco is part of the cauliflower family. Chou (shoo) is cabbage or kale. There are many kinds of chou here; chou fleur (shoo-fluhr) is cauliflower, chou de bruxelles (shoo duh brewk-sehl) are Brussel sprouts, to name a couple. The origin is Italian, specifically around Rome. It’s an old variety, though its introduction to France has been fairly recent. It’s seen more and more in the fresh markets but still limited in popularity. My quick Google search netted only two recipes, simple steaming with butter and a tart. People still don’t know what to do with it.
The flavor is a cross between broccoli and cauliflower. I made a soup just to test it out (my friend the chef said, “Oui, you can make soup out of anything.”). It’s a basic soup, something one can use with either broccoli or cauliflower, though I prefer the broccoli because the turmeric keeps the green color of the vegetable, just as it does the chou romanesco. It’s quick and easy and perfect for these cool autumn days.
As an aside, for all the math geeks out there, the number of spirals on the little pyramid “crowns” going clockwise and the number going anti-clockwise on the chou are based on the Fibonacci series, the same series that makes up the mathematical spiral on the shell of a snail or escargot (ehss-kahr-goh).
Proof, perhaps, that if there is a God, he must eat like a Frenchman, oui?
Soup Chou Romanesco
3 tablespoons good olive oil 1 medium onion chopped fine 2 shallots chopped fine 1 medium chou romanesco (if you’re lucky!) or medium bunch of broccoli ½ -1 tablespoon turmeric 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock, preferably homemade pinch saffron salt and pepperSauté the onion and shallots in the olive oil until soft but not brown. Cut the broccoli into its little “trees” and add to onions. Add the turmeric. Stir for a couple minutes over medium heat (you want to keep the green color). Add the stock and saffron and bring just to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until broccoli is soft. Purée the soup with a hand blender (my favorite) or blender or processor. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.
Note: You could even add a little cream to the soup to make it a tad richer and a little more elegant.
Doug Cushman is a former Redding artist and author who now lives and works in Paris. He was born in Springfield, Ohio, and moved to Connecticut with his family at the age of 15. In high school he created comic books lampooning his teachers, selling them to his classmates for a nickel apiece. Since 1978, he has illustrated and/or written more than 100 books for children and collected a number of honors, including a Reuben Award for Book Illustration from the National Cartoonists Society, New York Times Children’s Books Best Sellers, and the New York Public Library’s Best 100 Books of 2000. He enjoys hiking, kayaking and cooking (and eating!). Learn more at his website, doug-cushman.com