Strange coincidence: last year, on January 25th, 2014, I wrote about romanesco in a post entitled 7 Uncommon Vegetables for your Produce Bucket List. I had never seen romanesco in a store. I kept my eyes peeled for it all year, but could never find any. That is, until last Wednesday, when I finally spotted some at my local Whole Foods . . . on January 25th, 2015. Weird, right?

Coming across this gorgeous vegetable exactly one year after posting about it has me wondering if it might be magic. I mean, look at those spirals! According to Wikipedia, the number of spirals on a head of Romanesco is a Fibonacci number, and its form approximates a fractal. How is it possible that something like this exists?

In addition to its special properties, romanesco is delicious. I roasted it whole because I couldn’t bear to slice it up any sooner than I had to. Its flavor is similar to cauliflower and broccoli, but a little milder and nuttier. And, just like with cauliflower or broccoli, the browned bits are extra delicious. If you can’t find romanesco, you could definitely use one of its brassica cousins for this recipe instead.