Anna says: “I worked for an organic veg box company in my 20s, teaching new skills with swede and cooking vegetarian pop-up feasts around the country. Whenever I was ‘on tour’, I’d serve this hero dish with romanesco whenever it was in season. Without fail, we were always asked for this recipe when the dishes were cleared.”

Timings: 1¼ hours

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 large romanesco cauliflower (about 750g)
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
50g unsalted butter
2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
1 red chilli, finely sliced
1 tsp hot smoked paprika
Leaves and stems of a small bunch of parsley
50g almonds, toasted and roughly chopped
Salt and pepper

For the red onion pickle:

1 red onion, very finely sliced into rounds on a mandoline
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp caster sugar
For the beans
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
1 x 600g jar butter beans, drained
200ml vegetable stock

Method

Preheat the oven to 200ºC (180ºC Fan). Trim the base of the romanesco, discard any discoloured or very large, tough leaves, and set the remaining leaves aside. Cut a deep ‘x’ in the stalk of the romanesco, then place it snugly in a small, deep roasting dish and pour 100ml water around the base. Cover the dish tightly with foil, then place in the oven for 30 minutes.

While the romanesco is steaming in the oven, make the red onion pickle. Scrunch the red onion in a small mixing bowl with the vinegar, sugar and a pinch of salt until the slices soften. Place a bowl or jar on top of the onions to weigh them down, then set aside.

Heat the olive oil for the beans in a small saucepan over medium heat and add the garlic and bay leaf. Stir for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the beans and stock to the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes.

Remove the foil from the romanesco and drizzle it generously with olive oil (there may be some water in the base of the dish, but this will continue to evaporate). Scatter over a little salt and pepper, then return it to the oven to roast for a final 15 minutes, until the romanesco is black in places, and tender to the point of a sharp knife. Seven minutes before the end of the cooking time, drizzle the reserved leaves with oil and arrange them around the whole vegetable.

To make the smoky butter, heat the oil and butter in a small frying pan over a low heat. When the butter is melted, stir in the garlic and chilli and continue to cook over a low heat for 7–8 minutes, until the garlic is golden. Remove from the heat and stir in the hot smoked paprika.

Lift the bay leaf out of the beans and use a stick blender to purée the mixture until smooth. Season generously with freshly ground black pepper.

Spread the bean purée over a large serving platter. Cut the romanesco into quarters and arrange on top of the beans. Finely chop three-quarters of the parsley and stir into the smoky butter, and pour it over the top of the romanesco. Scatter over the almonds and remaining parsley leaves.

Drain the onion pickle and serve alongside.

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