This recipe for Pasta Salad with Romanesco, Capers, and Saffron originally appeared at FoodPolitic.

One of the biggest perks of living in Southern California is the year-round farmer’s market available in nearly every community.  I love to wander around early on Sunday mornings while the sun is still rising and see what the farmers have collected for the week.  In the winter months, green leafy vegetables and citrus take center stage.  Apparentlyl spiky vegetables are also in season!  I recently discovered the lime-green, fractal heads of Romanesco broccoli (also known as Roman cauliflower) at one of my favorite stands, Underwood Farms.  Clearly I needed to purchase this vegetable immediately, and more importantly, I needed to do something useful with it.

I decided to make a pasta salad inspired by Indian flavors, cumin and saffron.   Noodles with extra nooks and crannies work best because they trap the fragrant, lemony sauce and infuse the salad with lots of flavor.  The steamed Romanesco broccoli has a milder flavor than traditional broccoli and cauliflower, so it does not overpower the pasta salad.  For an extra punch, I topped with final dish with fresh herbs and capers.   If you are looking for a gluten-free option, leave out the pasta entirely and enjoy the delicious flavors on just the vegetables.  It makes a great vegetarian side dish!

On a more practical note, not everyone owns a steamer basket.  I personally do not, although I hope to add it to my repertoire soon.  In the absence of a steamer basket, I often blanch vegetables, but I wondered if I could hack together a method for steaming anyway.  I positioned my metal colander over a pot of boiling water and used the pot cover on top of the colander.  It was not a perfect solution (steam escaped out the side holes of the colander), but overall it worked and I was happy with the results.  I was able to steam my Romanesco broccoli, and many other vegetables since.  So, give it a shot if you don’t have a steamer basket.  It might work for you too!