The star of this dish is cauliflower, a humble vegetable that has traveled far from its Mediterranean origins. Paired with coconut—a tropical treasure revered for its nutritional richness—and walnuts, which date back to ancient Persia, this recipe is a celebration of global flavors and textures.
Smithsonian scientists and colleagues report that snails successfully crossed Central America, long considered an impenetrable barrier to marine organisms, twice in the past million years—both times probably by flying across Mexico, stuck to the legs or riding on the bellies of shorebirds and introducing new genes that contribute to the marine biodiversity on each coast.
