A CHILD’S NIGHTMARE

Roasted broccoliflower, Brussels sprouts, and garlic: your average kid’s bad dream.

To your average kid, this dish of roasted broccoliflower, Brussels sprouts, and garlic is the stuff bad dreams are made of.

But for me, it’s just Jim Dandy.

Broccoliflower is one of them new-fangled vegetabobbles. It’s a head of cauliflower with a light greenish tinge... the result, perhaps, of Mr. Broccoli and Ms. Cauliflower getting busy. Or whatever it is vegetables do.

Once you wash and hack up the veg into manageable pieces, a little olive oil, some kosher salt, a sprinkle of oregano, and a dash of piment d’espelette (Basque red pepper) is all you need. Plus about 45 minutes in a 350°F oven. (I used a convection oven, so I turned the heat down to 325°.) As for the garlic, I simply sliced the top off an unpeeled whole head, set it in the roasting pan, and drizzled it with olive oil. After the vegetables are done, you simply squeeze that roasted head to get the soft, mellow roasted garlic cloves out. (A zit analogy is accurate but unappetizing, so I’ll not use it. Oops.)

Yummy. If you’re a grown-up.