So the CC posted on his Instagram a suitably random post about how even vegetable-hating kids love the CC's mac-n-cheese. Lo, to his surprise, there was an inundation of requests for the recipe.
The recipe will be provided but since chez CC we tend to be of analytic bent, let's back up a little and ask ourselves a few questions.
Why is what the CC doing working for kids?
Why exactly?
Here are the claims:
[1] Kids are irrational.
[2] Kids won't eat anything green.
[3] Kids hate vegetables.
These are empirical observations that can be backed up in spades. The CC is not going to contest these observations and concerns. They seem to be real.
They are also demonstrably false as the CC's recipe would contest. After all, the CC is working empirically in the real world against a real set of kids and it's working great!
So let's back up one more time and ask why is this even happening?
Why?
There are two plausible answers - one evolutionary and one cultural.
Evolutionarily, all bitter flavors are banned. There's a very good reason for this. Bitter flavors generally speaking correspond to alkaloid poisons. It takes a very sophisticated palate to start appreciating bitter flavors in vegetables — okra, eggplants, broccoli, kale, spinach, brussels sprouts — even beer and wine!
Culturally, basically kids will eat whatever you shove in their face. Shove enough spicy food slowly amped up and they will learn an appreciation for spicy flavors. Shove bland food in their face and they'll only eat chicken nuggets.
So now we're ready to proceed — kids will eat complex flavors as long as you keep the vegetables on the "sweeter" side and the flavors "familiar".
Both of these words are basically garbage - "sweeter" is all relative - if you roast brussels sprouts properly, they'll turn "sweet" and of course, and as the Greeks might've told you in 3rd century BCE, all of "familiarity" is in the eye of the beholder.
So now that we've gotten that out of the way, let's proceed.
What we're gonna do is pick vegetables that kids perceive (falsely) as sweet and we're gonna cut them into small enough pieces so that they don't stand out (very chef-like) and we're gonna go back to the two classical evolutionary devices — carbohydates and fats.
We're also going to the use full panoply of French and Italian classical cooking devices to make a superior meal — yes, that means understanding bechamél and sauce Mornay. Escoffier to the rescue!
Hey, think of the kids!!!
You wouldn't expect otherwise with the CC and yet, not so hard. Also, it's eminently available for assembly ahead of time. Just pop it in the oven later.
Ingredients
(serves 6)
2 cups macaroni
2 tbsp butter (no substitutions!)
4 cups whole milk (no substitutions!)
4 tbsp flour
2 cups gruyère
2 cups parmigiano-reggiano
1 large zucchini (diced)
1 large carrot (diced)
1 cup french beans (diced)
1 cup broad beans (slivered)
1 cup fava beans
1 cup peas
1 cup cauliflower florets (cut as small as realistic)
1 cup celery (skin shaved and then diced - skin shaving is not optional!)
fresh rosemary/sage (slivered finely - optional)
salt
pepper
panko (Japanese-style bread crumbs)
Recipe
Cook the macaroni in heavily salted water until done. Depends on your brand. Roughly 12 minutes.
Make the bechamél. Heat the butter in a pan. Add the flour and let it "cook" until it is golden. Immediately add the milk. Let it cook completely till it thickens.
(What is really happening is that the milk proteins are denaturing.)
Add the salt and pepper. Add the rosemary/sage (optional.) Taste and adjust. Don't forget the cheese will add extra salt.
Toss in the vegetables one at a time in the order of "hardness" - first the carrots, then the french beans and broad beans, then the fava beans, then the cauliflower and zucchini and celery - finally the peas.
Add the cheese to turn the bechamél into what is technically called sauce Mornay — you can do it at the same time as adding the macaroni. Toss it all together.
Layer in a baking dish. sprinkle heavily with the panko breadcrumbs all over.
The next step depends on your baking dish.
If you have a shallow baking dish, preheat your oven to 350° F. If it's deep (like the CC's), preheat to 400° F.
Cook the dish covered for 25 minutes. Cook uncovered so that the surface crisps for about 10-15 minutes. Check towards the end because there's a tendency of burning.
Serve with a crisp salad (for the adults).
Showing posts with label cauliflower. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cauliflower. Show all posts
Sunday, September 9, 2018
Saturday, December 9, 2017
Constructing a Meal
(This article was written earlier but Blogger has a rather annoying "auto-save" feature and the article got deleted. The CC had to rewrite it from scratch.)
One of the things that perennially bugs the CC is that neither home chefs nor professional chefs give any insight whatsoever into how a meal is actually constructed.
This has something fundamentally to do with the "recipe" format of cookbooks. One really needs an entirely alternate model that works at the meal level.
Cookbooks also rely on the entirely unreliable fact that people just magically absorb knowledge by "osmosis" and "culture". Both of these seem to be demonstrably false assertions. Since one is not always granted the luxury of an Italian nonna or an Japanese obaachan and since kids are not born knowing complex culinary logic when yanked from the womb, one is left with the inescapable conclusion that all knowledge is learned.
That means one should be able to both teach it and learn it.
The CC is going to use himself as an example.
The only thing planned before the Saturday was that the meal would be Japanese and it would feature some form of clams - either asari gohan (= あさりご飯 = clam rice) or asari no miso dashijiru (= あさり味噌汁, clam miso soup.)
The CC arrived at the farmers' market on a frigid Saturday morning only to find that most of the vendors were missing. It was already turning into a disaster.
Thankfully there was one vegetable vendor and the fishmonger was around.
Cauliflowers were obtained (purple, romanesco) as were some carrots. The CC noted that he had exactly two Italian flat beans and two cherry tomatoes at home. This was going to be a tricky operation.
The CC noted that there were no scallions at home and none at the market neither. However, he did have some homemade furikake already prepared. That put paid to the idea of the asari gohan (because of the black furikake) and hence it was going to the be the clams with miso soup.
(Note how we rarely make decisions. They are made for us already.)
Luckily, the CC still had one of the last of the late summer cucumbers so a quick sunomono (vinegar pickle) was added to the mix. The CC still had some pickled ginger in his cabinet. The vegetables were steamed and combined with a modified tare sauce that the CC just loves. The dish can be made ahead of time and is actually better at room temperature rather than warm.
The CC needed a fifth dish (rice doesn't count) and he had carrots so he made the classic quick stir-fried dish with carrots and hijiki.
The meal follows the entirely Japanese principles of washoku (= 和食) — there are five vegetables of different colors, five methods, five tastes, etc.
The rules above might have a Japanese origin but they are not laws of nature. They are just an excellent set of rules-of-thumb to ensure nutritional completeness and stave away boredom. The CC finds himself using the rules even if he's making a classically French dinner or an Indian one.
Dinner is served.
One of the things that perennially bugs the CC is that neither home chefs nor professional chefs give any insight whatsoever into how a meal is actually constructed.
This has something fundamentally to do with the "recipe" format of cookbooks. One really needs an entirely alternate model that works at the meal level.
Cookbooks also rely on the entirely unreliable fact that people just magically absorb knowledge by "osmosis" and "culture". Both of these seem to be demonstrably false assertions. Since one is not always granted the luxury of an Italian nonna or an Japanese obaachan and since kids are not born knowing complex culinary logic when yanked from the womb, one is left with the inescapable conclusion that all knowledge is learned.
That means one should be able to both teach it and learn it.
The CC is going to use himself as an example.
The only thing planned before the Saturday was that the meal would be Japanese and it would feature some form of clams - either asari gohan (= あさりご飯 = clam rice) or asari no miso dashijiru (= あさり味噌汁, clam miso soup.)
The CC arrived at the farmers' market on a frigid Saturday morning only to find that most of the vendors were missing. It was already turning into a disaster.
Thankfully there was one vegetable vendor and the fishmonger was around.
Cauliflowers were obtained (purple, romanesco) as were some carrots. The CC noted that he had exactly two Italian flat beans and two cherry tomatoes at home. This was going to be a tricky operation.
The CC noted that there were no scallions at home and none at the market neither. However, he did have some homemade furikake already prepared. That put paid to the idea of the asari gohan (because of the black furikake) and hence it was going to the be the clams with miso soup.
(Note how we rarely make decisions. They are made for us already.)
Luckily, the CC still had one of the last of the late summer cucumbers so a quick sunomono (vinegar pickle) was added to the mix. The CC still had some pickled ginger in his cabinet. The vegetables were steamed and combined with a modified tare sauce that the CC just loves. The dish can be made ahead of time and is actually better at room temperature rather than warm.
The CC needed a fifth dish (rice doesn't count) and he had carrots so he made the classic quick stir-fried dish with carrots and hijiki.
The meal follows the entirely Japanese principles of washoku (= 和食) — there are five vegetables of different colors, five methods, five tastes, etc.
The rules above might have a Japanese origin but they are not laws of nature. They are just an excellent set of rules-of-thumb to ensure nutritional completeness and stave away boredom. The CC finds himself using the rules even if he's making a classically French dinner or an Indian one.
Dinner is served.
Five autumn vegetables with modified "tare" sauce
♦
Clam miso soup
♦
Cucumber sunomono
♦
Sweet-sour hijiki
♦
Pickled white ginger
♦
White rice with furikake
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Colored Cauliflowers
Recently more and more of the colored cauliflowers have started showing up at the farmers' market so the CC started doing some research on them. They are genetically-modified cauliflowers.
The CC is not afraid of the genetic modification because it has been going on forever. The "organic granolas" put scare-quotes around the "genetic" part but it's part of our legacy. We've been doing this since the birth of agriculture. Cross-breeding to get sweeter varieties or more hardy ones or ones that are more resistant to various pests and fungi.
Carrots were not originally "orange". They were cultivated specifically to appeal to the Dutch House of Orange and in return they became the "Royal Vegetable". They were also markedly sweeter which explains why they became the dominant variety.
The story of the colored cauliflowers is as varied as their colors:
The orange cauliflower was a genetic mutant first found in Canada in 1970. It was crossbred using conventional cross-breeding techniques at Cornell University until it now finds its way into the mainstream. The orange comes from beta-carotene — the same compound that gives carrots its characteristic color and which is absolutely necessary for humans to produce Vitamin A.
The purple cauliflower was a similar mutant found in Denmark in the 1980's. Same idea of cross-breeding. The purple comes from anthocyanins (also found in raspberries, blueberries, grapes, red wine, olives.) They are water soluble so if you want to preserve the color, you will need to gently roast it not boil it or steam it. It has a very characteristic smell when you cut into it and it's a lot milder in flavor than the others.
The green one is a cross-breed between broccoli and cauliflower. There is also the Romanesco cauliflower but that's a different breed.
A classic recipe is presented for your benefit.
Pasta with Cauliflower, Anchovies, Raisins, Pine Nuts & Saffron
Ingredients
2 cups rigatoni (or penne.)
1 head cauliflower (separated into medium-sized florets)
1 large red onion (chopped)
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup raisins
6 anchovies (preferably salt-cured)
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp saffron
olive oil
sea salt
black pepper
1/3 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano
breadcrumbs
Recipe
Toast the breadcrumbs and set aside. Toast the pine nuts until golden. Be careful not to burn them. Set aside.
Heat an oven to 400°F and roast the cauliflower florets for 15 minutes.
Heat the olive oil at medium heat. When shimmering, add the onions and fry for a further 7-9 minutes. Add the tomato paste, and the anchovies and fry. The anchovies will "dissolve" as they fry. Add a cup of water, the raisins, sea salt, and black pepper, and let cook at low heat.
Meanwhile make the pasta until al dente. Drain.
The cauliflower mixture should be just slightly on the wet side. If dry, add some more water.
Toss in the saffron, cauliflowers and the pasta, and mix thoroughly.
Serve with the parmesan and roasted breadcrumbs on top with extra black pepper to taste.
The CC is not afraid of the genetic modification because it has been going on forever. The "organic granolas" put scare-quotes around the "genetic" part but it's part of our legacy. We've been doing this since the birth of agriculture. Cross-breeding to get sweeter varieties or more hardy ones or ones that are more resistant to various pests and fungi.
Carrots were not originally "orange". They were cultivated specifically to appeal to the Dutch House of Orange and in return they became the "Royal Vegetable". They were also markedly sweeter which explains why they became the dominant variety.
The story of the colored cauliflowers is as varied as their colors:
The orange cauliflower was a genetic mutant first found in Canada in 1970. It was crossbred using conventional cross-breeding techniques at Cornell University until it now finds its way into the mainstream. The orange comes from beta-carotene — the same compound that gives carrots its characteristic color and which is absolutely necessary for humans to produce Vitamin A.
The purple cauliflower was a similar mutant found in Denmark in the 1980's. Same idea of cross-breeding. The purple comes from anthocyanins (also found in raspberries, blueberries, grapes, red wine, olives.) They are water soluble so if you want to preserve the color, you will need to gently roast it not boil it or steam it. It has a very characteristic smell when you cut into it and it's a lot milder in flavor than the others.
The green one is a cross-breed between broccoli and cauliflower. There is also the Romanesco cauliflower but that's a different breed.
A classic recipe is presented for your benefit.
Pasta with Cauliflower, Anchovies, Raisins, Pine Nuts & Saffron
Ingredients
2 cups rigatoni (or penne.)
1 head cauliflower (separated into medium-sized florets)
1 large red onion (chopped)
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup raisins
6 anchovies (preferably salt-cured)
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp saffron
olive oil
sea salt
black pepper
1/3 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano
breadcrumbs
Recipe
Toast the breadcrumbs and set aside. Toast the pine nuts until golden. Be careful not to burn them. Set aside.
Heat an oven to 400°F and roast the cauliflower florets for 15 minutes.
Heat the olive oil at medium heat. When shimmering, add the onions and fry for a further 7-9 minutes. Add the tomato paste, and the anchovies and fry. The anchovies will "dissolve" as they fry. Add a cup of water, the raisins, sea salt, and black pepper, and let cook at low heat.
Meanwhile make the pasta until al dente. Drain.
The cauliflower mixture should be just slightly on the wet side. If dry, add some more water.
Toss in the saffron, cauliflowers and the pasta, and mix thoroughly.
Serve with the parmesan and roasted breadcrumbs on top with extra black pepper to taste.
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Let's Bolt Out of Here
Have you ever had a lettuce and it was slightly bitter?
It's been "bolting".
No, the CC is not making this term up. It seems to be standard terminology in the horticultural world.
Bolting is the plants' attempt to produce seeds, flower and reproduce.
Once plants have bolted, there's no going back because it's just a fact that they just want to flower and reproduce whereas we want to eat them. They turn bitter because it's a first-line defense against predators including humans who most certainly are exactly that.
There's a general tendency of humans to buy larger produce. More bang for the unit buck and all that but you'd be better served to pick smaller varieties that haven't yet bolted out of town.
It's been "bolting".
No, the CC is not making this term up. It seems to be standard terminology in the horticultural world.
Bolting is the plants' attempt to produce seeds, flower and reproduce.
Once plants have bolted, there's no going back because it's just a fact that they just want to flower and reproduce whereas we want to eat them. They turn bitter because it's a first-line defense against predators including humans who most certainly are exactly that.
There's a general tendency of humans to buy larger produce. More bang for the unit buck and all that but you'd be better served to pick smaller varieties that haven't yet bolted out of town.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Roman Inheritance
If you look back far enough, human taste hasn't changed much and you can spot the modern in the ancient and vice versa.
Apicius refers to a collection of Roman recipes compiled somewhere in the late fourth to early fifth century. It's attributed ot Marcus Gavius Apicius, a Roman gourmand who lived in the first century (and hence the collection is extraordinarily unlikely to have written by him.)
Recipe 89 goes as follows:
Even though the CC has translated coliculis as "cauliflower", it could equally well have been cabbage or broccoli, or even all of them (all members of the brassica family really.) There is considerable leeway here.
You can see the similarities in a classical Sicilian recipe that uses pasta instead of boiled spelt (perhaps couscous would be closer?) with cauliflower, onions (substituting for leeks), anchovies, raisins and pinenuts. The only difference is the seasoning which calls for saffron not cumin, and the tomato paste which is entirely New World for reasons explained here.
The anchovies are the exact replacement for garum which is nothing more than a fish sauce made with anchovies. The Thai nahm pla or the Filipino patis are the closest modern equivalents.
You too can eat like a Roman gourmand. Indulge!
Pasta with Cauliflower, Anchovies, Raisins, Pine Nuts & Saffron
Ingredients
2 cups rigatoni (or penne.)
1 head cauliflower (separated into medium-sized florets)
1 large red onion (chopped)
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup raisins
6 anchovies (preferably salt-cured)
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp saffron
olive oil
sea salt
black pepper
breadcrumbs
Recipe
Toast the breadcrumbs and set aside. Toast the pine nuts until golden. Be careful not to burn them. Set aside.
Heat the olive oil at medium heat. When shimmering, add the cauliflower and fry languidly for 6-8 minutes. Add the onions and fry for a further 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste, and the anchovies and fry. The anchovies will "dissolve" as they fry. Add a cup of water, the raisins, sea salt, and black pepper, and let cook at low heat.
Meanwhile make the pasta until al dente. Drain.
The cauliflower mixture should be just slightly on the wet side. If dry, add some more water.
Toss in the saffron, and the pasta, and mix thoroughly.
Serve with the roasted breadcrumbs on top, and more black pepper if you like.
Apicius refers to a collection of Roman recipes compiled somewhere in the late fourth to early fifth century. It's attributed ot Marcus Gavius Apicius, a Roman gourmand who lived in the first century (and hence the collection is extraordinarily unlikely to have written by him.)
Recipe 89 goes as follows:
Coliculis conditis ut supra superfundes alicam elixam cum nucleis et uva passa; piper asparges.The "as above" refers to an earlier recipe (87) where the sauce consists of garum, olive oil, wine and cumin topped with fried leeks.
Over the young cauliflower, seasoned as above, pour boiled spelt with pine nuts and raisins; sprinkle with pepper.
Even though the CC has translated coliculis as "cauliflower", it could equally well have been cabbage or broccoli, or even all of them (all members of the brassica family really.) There is considerable leeway here.
You can see the similarities in a classical Sicilian recipe that uses pasta instead of boiled spelt (perhaps couscous would be closer?) with cauliflower, onions (substituting for leeks), anchovies, raisins and pinenuts. The only difference is the seasoning which calls for saffron not cumin, and the tomato paste which is entirely New World for reasons explained here.
The anchovies are the exact replacement for garum which is nothing more than a fish sauce made with anchovies. The Thai nahm pla or the Filipino patis are the closest modern equivalents.
You too can eat like a Roman gourmand. Indulge!
Pasta with Cauliflower, Anchovies, Raisins, Pine Nuts & Saffron
Ingredients
2 cups rigatoni (or penne.)
1 head cauliflower (separated into medium-sized florets)
1 large red onion (chopped)
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup raisins
6 anchovies (preferably salt-cured)
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp saffron
olive oil
sea salt
black pepper
breadcrumbs
Recipe
Toast the breadcrumbs and set aside. Toast the pine nuts until golden. Be careful not to burn them. Set aside.
Heat the olive oil at medium heat. When shimmering, add the cauliflower and fry languidly for 6-8 minutes. Add the onions and fry for a further 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste, and the anchovies and fry. The anchovies will "dissolve" as they fry. Add a cup of water, the raisins, sea salt, and black pepper, and let cook at low heat.
Meanwhile make the pasta until al dente. Drain.
The cauliflower mixture should be just slightly on the wet side. If dry, add some more water.
Toss in the saffron, and the pasta, and mix thoroughly.
Serve with the roasted breadcrumbs on top, and more black pepper if you like.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Winter Mac 'n Cheese
When winter strikes, there's nothing like a warm oven and some comfort food.
This, of course, is a classic but it's been gussied up with winter vegetables. It takes a little longer because you have to roast all the vegetables separately but it's wonderful when it all comes together.
The trick with vegetables of the brassica family (brussel sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, etc.) is to roast them. It brings out the inherent sweetness in them without the smelly part (which occurs if you boil them.) They also happen to be absurdly nutritious.
The house will smell really nice with all the roasting and if you really want to amp it up a notch, a little truffle oil will take it to the next level.
Ingredients
4 cups whole-wheat penne
1 head radicchio (sliced into thin strips)
1 small cauliflower (cut into florets)
1 large carrot (diced)
butter
2 cups milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup gruyère (grated coarsely)
1 cup parmigiano-reggiano (grated coarsely)
4 tbsp fresh rosemary (chopped fine)
4 tbsp fresh thyme
breadcrumbs
nutmeg
olive oil
sea salt
black pepper
2 tbsp truffle oil (optional)
Recipe
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Toss the radicchio with olive oil, salt and pepper and bake for about 15-18 minutes. Remove.
Toss the cauliflower with olive oil and pepper (no salt! - otherwise the mixture will be overly salty) and roast for about 15 minutes. Remove.
Cook the penne in heavily salted water until under al dente (about 12 minutes.)
Meanwhile, make the béchamel. Heat the butter. Add the flour, and let it cook at medium low heat until it is golden (but not brown). Add the milk and continue stirring. The sauce will continue to thicken. Add the salt, black pepper, nutmeg, rosemary and thyme, and take it off the heat.
Combine the penne, the sauce, vegetables, the cheeses, and truffle oil (if using) in a oven-proof casserole. Top off the dish with the breadcrumbs (this is the real secret to success!)
Bake covered for about 30 minutes. Bake uncovered for about 12-15 minutes until the top is golden and crispy.
This, of course, is a classic but it's been gussied up with winter vegetables. It takes a little longer because you have to roast all the vegetables separately but it's wonderful when it all comes together.
The trick with vegetables of the brassica family (brussel sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, etc.) is to roast them. It brings out the inherent sweetness in them without the smelly part (which occurs if you boil them.) They also happen to be absurdly nutritious.
The house will smell really nice with all the roasting and if you really want to amp it up a notch, a little truffle oil will take it to the next level.
Ingredients
4 cups whole-wheat penne
1 head radicchio (sliced into thin strips)
1 small cauliflower (cut into florets)
1 large carrot (diced)
butter
2 cups milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup gruyère (grated coarsely)
1 cup parmigiano-reggiano (grated coarsely)
4 tbsp fresh rosemary (chopped fine)
4 tbsp fresh thyme
breadcrumbs
nutmeg
olive oil
sea salt
black pepper
2 tbsp truffle oil (optional)
Recipe
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Toss the radicchio with olive oil, salt and pepper and bake for about 15-18 minutes. Remove.
Toss the cauliflower with olive oil and pepper (no salt! - otherwise the mixture will be overly salty) and roast for about 15 minutes. Remove.
Cook the penne in heavily salted water until under al dente (about 12 minutes.)
Meanwhile, make the béchamel. Heat the butter. Add the flour, and let it cook at medium low heat until it is golden (but not brown). Add the milk and continue stirring. The sauce will continue to thicken. Add the salt, black pepper, nutmeg, rosemary and thyme, and take it off the heat.
Combine the penne, the sauce, vegetables, the cheeses, and truffle oil (if using) in a oven-proof casserole. Top off the dish with the breadcrumbs (this is the real secret to success!)
Bake covered for about 30 minutes. Bake uncovered for about 12-15 minutes until the top is golden and crispy.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Arroz caldoso con sepia y coliflor
This is an entirely unusual recipe in that it sounds positively weird on paper but is absolutely delicious in practice.
Arroz caldoso is the ultimate comfort food. Rice, protein and seasonings in a soupy broth that is absolutely perfect when the weather gets cold.
Best of all, it reheats wonderfully (attn: office dwellers) and the taste improves with time.
It's Valencian in origin, and originally features cuttlefish (sepia) but lacking that, the CC used squid.
You will notice below that the technique is entirely unusual. Instead of the onions and garlic being sautéed first, the squid is. There is logic here. Squid needs to be either cooked very little, or a long time otherwise you get a rubbery unappetizing texture. This recipe uses the latter method.
Ingredients
2 cups Valencian short-grain rice (substitute by Arborio)
6 cups fish broth
1/2 lb tomatoes (passed through a food mill)
1 lb cauliflower florets
1 lb cuttlefish (or squid) cut into 1/2 inch slices
4 large garlic cloves, minced
1 large onion, coarsely grated
4 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp saffron
1 tsp sweet paprika (preferably Spanish smoked)
4 tbsp fresh parsley (chopped fine)
sea salt
Recipe
Combine the broth and saffron in a pot and keep warm over a very low flame.
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
In an oven-proof casserole, heat the olive oil, and sauté the squid. Sprinkle with the sea salt while this is happening. Stir in the cauliflower, garlic and grated onion and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, parsley and cook for 3 minutes. Turn the heat to low and let cook for 10 minutes.
Stir in the paprika, rice, and sauté until the rice is well coated with the mixture. Pour in the broth and boil for 5-8 minutes until the rice is slightly done. Transfer to the oven and cook for 10 minutes, uncovered until the rice is still al dente.
The mixture should be still soupy at this point.
Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes. Serve.
Arroz caldoso is the ultimate comfort food. Rice, protein and seasonings in a soupy broth that is absolutely perfect when the weather gets cold.
Best of all, it reheats wonderfully (attn: office dwellers) and the taste improves with time.
It's Valencian in origin, and originally features cuttlefish (sepia) but lacking that, the CC used squid.
You will notice below that the technique is entirely unusual. Instead of the onions and garlic being sautéed first, the squid is. There is logic here. Squid needs to be either cooked very little, or a long time otherwise you get a rubbery unappetizing texture. This recipe uses the latter method.
Ingredients
2 cups Valencian short-grain rice (substitute by Arborio)
6 cups fish broth
1/2 lb tomatoes (passed through a food mill)
1 lb cauliflower florets
1 lb cuttlefish (or squid) cut into 1/2 inch slices
4 large garlic cloves, minced
1 large onion, coarsely grated
4 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp saffron
1 tsp sweet paprika (preferably Spanish smoked)
4 tbsp fresh parsley (chopped fine)
sea salt
Recipe
Combine the broth and saffron in a pot and keep warm over a very low flame.
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
In an oven-proof casserole, heat the olive oil, and sauté the squid. Sprinkle with the sea salt while this is happening. Stir in the cauliflower, garlic and grated onion and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, parsley and cook for 3 minutes. Turn the heat to low and let cook for 10 minutes.
Stir in the paprika, rice, and sauté until the rice is well coated with the mixture. Pour in the broth and boil for 5-8 minutes until the rice is slightly done. Transfer to the oven and cook for 10 minutes, uncovered until the rice is still al dente.
The mixture should be still soupy at this point.
Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes. Serve.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Cauliflower Risotto (Risotto al Cavalfiori)
Lust is not easy to portray on a blog but this recipe deserves it.
That it's made out of "winter" ingredients makes it one of the worst portrayals of lust in the repertoire so why not indulge the CC for a change, and trust his judgment?
Parallelization is essential to success here if you plan make this on a weekday. Basically, the cauliflower needs to get in the oven first so that it can start roasting while you chop the rest of the stuff, and do the pangrattato (breadcrumb topping.)
Also, this is one of those cases where a non-stick skillet is your best friend. Of course, you can also go ahead and fry the topping which would be both be super-indulgent and traditional.
Homemade stock is a plus here but you could get away with just water but it won't be the same. The CC recommends that you make a quick dashi while the cauliflower is roasting.
A food processor and blender will make quick work of a few steps if you let it. It's a lot faster than the mortar and pestle, and as you will see, quite irrelevant to the final result.
Just for the record, the CC used a mortar and pestle on a weekday. It takes all kinds to inhabit the world ...
Ingredients
1 head cauliflower (cut into florets)
3 leeks (chopped very fine)
2 cups arborio (or carnaroli rice)
2 sprigs rosemary (finely chopped)
4 cups stock
2 cups water
salt
pepper
1 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
4 anchovies (preferably in salt "prepped".)
2 dried red chillies
1/2 cup pine nuts
Recipe
Toss the cauliflower florets with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast in a 400°F oven for 35-40 minutes until lightly browned.
Meanwhile, chop the leeks.
Dump the breadcrumbs, anchovies, and red chillies into the food-processor and process. Roast the mixture on a skillet in olive oil, and set aside. This is the pangrattato topping.
While the cauliflower is roasting, roast the pine nuts on a skillet until lightly browned. They are there for texture, and protein.
Take half of the cauliflower, add 2 cups of cold water, and the rosemary and blend to a fine paste.
(Why is the water cold? Because with the hot cauliflower, you will get to blend it quickly without dealing with the blender's heat-explosion. Only people who have never blended will fail to understand this subtle point.)
Keep the stock warm at a barely visible simmer.
Now, make the standard risotto. Fry the leeks, fry the rice, alternately add the hot stock, and the cauliflower paste. Towards the end dump in cauliflower, and the rosemary.
Last but not least, the mantecura. Mix in the parmigiano-reggiano.
Serve with the roasted pine-nut and pangrattato.
That it's made out of "winter" ingredients makes it one of the worst portrayals of lust in the repertoire so why not indulge the CC for a change, and trust his judgment?
Parallelization is essential to success here if you plan make this on a weekday. Basically, the cauliflower needs to get in the oven first so that it can start roasting while you chop the rest of the stuff, and do the pangrattato (breadcrumb topping.)
Also, this is one of those cases where a non-stick skillet is your best friend. Of course, you can also go ahead and fry the topping which would be both be super-indulgent and traditional.
Homemade stock is a plus here but you could get away with just water but it won't be the same. The CC recommends that you make a quick dashi while the cauliflower is roasting.
A food processor and blender will make quick work of a few steps if you let it. It's a lot faster than the mortar and pestle, and as you will see, quite irrelevant to the final result.
Just for the record, the CC used a mortar and pestle on a weekday. It takes all kinds to inhabit the world ...
Ingredients
1 head cauliflower (cut into florets)
3 leeks (chopped very fine)
2 cups arborio (or carnaroli rice)
2 sprigs rosemary (finely chopped)
4 cups stock
2 cups water
salt
pepper
1 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
4 anchovies (preferably in salt "prepped".)
2 dried red chillies
1/2 cup pine nuts
Recipe
Toss the cauliflower florets with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast in a 400°F oven for 35-40 minutes until lightly browned.
Meanwhile, chop the leeks.
Dump the breadcrumbs, anchovies, and red chillies into the food-processor and process. Roast the mixture on a skillet in olive oil, and set aside. This is the pangrattato topping.
While the cauliflower is roasting, roast the pine nuts on a skillet until lightly browned. They are there for texture, and protein.
Take half of the cauliflower, add 2 cups of cold water, and the rosemary and blend to a fine paste.
(Why is the water cold? Because with the hot cauliflower, you will get to blend it quickly without dealing with the blender's heat-explosion. Only people who have never blended will fail to understand this subtle point.)
Keep the stock warm at a barely visible simmer.
Now, make the standard risotto. Fry the leeks, fry the rice, alternately add the hot stock, and the cauliflower paste. Towards the end dump in cauliflower, and the rosemary.
Last but not least, the mantecura. Mix in the parmigiano-reggiano.
Serve with the roasted pine-nut and pangrattato.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
The Story of Curry Powder
Everyone who's not completely demented about cooking knows there is no such thing in Indian cooking as "curry powder".
Yet, this yellow-looking vaguely Indian-ish powder is a global phenomenon showing up everywhere in menus from the finest French restaurants to Japanese fast-food ones serving kare raisu — curry rice that is gloppy, disgusting, and the staple of Japanese businessmen everywhere!
It should be noted that the fastidious Japanese with their ethic of purity and order eat this extraordinarily sloppy dish that would never show up on a kaiseki menu. And the main ingredient is an extraordinarly gaijin thing known as "curry powder".
So what's the story anyway? How did "curry powder" (which doesn't even exist in India) become French and Japanese? Why are there "curry ramen noodles"? Why are there Singaporean "curry noodles"? Which Frenchmen first served "curried cauliflower soup" and "curry vinaigrette"?
To answer this question, we're gonna have to rewind the clock and examine the mores of the 19th century. And we're gonna find that the people behaved, quite unsurprisingly, like people at any other time and place.
In short, they craved novelty.
And once novelty was provided, an equivalent market opened up to serve the novelty at the cheapest possible price, or to phrase it in modern lingo, they "commoditized the consumption".
There are virtually no cultures that don't appreciate novelty. Once novelty is provided, instantaneously the influence becomes "indigenized" - converted into the "native" framework of cooking. This is as true of tomatoes in Italy as green peppers in Thailand as potatoes in India. None of these are native to any of the regions (they are all "New World".)
The short story is that with the rising power of the British Empire in India, it became fashionable to serve all things "Indian". Queen Victoria, the Empress of India, was photographed wearing stereotypical "maharani" regalia. She even went as far as to appoint an Indian khidmatgar (servant), Abdul Karim, who rose to be her chief confidant. Poems were written (see here) and balls held in London where the guests dressed up in "Indian" costume and ate "Indian" food.
Needless to say, the British East India company did everything it could to market this phenomenon. When men go mad, avenues open up to supply them with the very objects that they need to go mad with so that profits can be made.
Enter "curry powder" — marketed to busy housewives so that they didn't need to concern themselves with the details of the "very foreign, very difficult" yet "deeply desired, and exotic" cuisine.
Unsurprisingly, the cheapest stuff correctly marketed turns out to be a monster hit. Same today as in the 19th century.
Commercial curry powder consists of the four cheapest ingredients in Indian cuisine -- coriander, cumin, fenugreek and turmeric (the latter giving it its yellow color while the fenugreek carries the characteristic bitter edge.)
That it spread to France from Britain should come as no surprise to anyone. Les rosbifs have always exhibited more than a little cultural fascination for "the Frogs" (ditto for the reverse.)
But the fastidious Japanese?
Kare raisu singlehandedly fails every Japanese culinary norm. Unsubtle, pungent, oil-based — the muddy yellowish sludge poured over rice could not be less Japanese. And yet, it's to be found in every train station and shopping district. It's chowed down by locals at lunch like it was going out of fashion. Irony of ironies, it's one of the most-requested "home-cooked" dishes in Japan.
How did this inauthentic powder turn Japanese?
The answer, of course, is the East India Company that nakedly peddled this powder all through the West and the East. Imported verbatim from the British idea of the dish, one can clearly see echoes of the dish in the 1872 Seiyo Ryōri Tsu ("Western Cooking".) The recipe is nearly identical to modern concoctions.
However, that explains the origin of the dish but not its overwhelming popularity. For that, you must look at the dish itself. It's warm, cheap, soothing, hearty, filling — all qualities that the Japanese have traditionally respected as an agrarian society must. Cheap sustaining fare that fuels the working masses. Does that or does that sounds Japanese?
The origins aside, the brute fact is that "curry powder" is global. Has been global for more than two centuries now, and authencity be damned, quite delicious.
Curry Cauliflower Soup
Ingredients
1 head cauliflower (cut into florets)
1 red onion (diced loosely)
1 tbsp curry powder
olive oil
sea salt
black pepper
Recipe
Toss the cauliflower florets with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast in a 400°F oven for 30 minutes until lightly browned.
Fry the onion at a low heat for 10 minutes. Toss in the cauliflower, water, and curry powder and purée.
Yet, this yellow-looking vaguely Indian-ish powder is a global phenomenon showing up everywhere in menus from the finest French restaurants to Japanese fast-food ones serving kare raisu — curry rice that is gloppy, disgusting, and the staple of Japanese businessmen everywhere!
It should be noted that the fastidious Japanese with their ethic of purity and order eat this extraordinarily sloppy dish that would never show up on a kaiseki menu. And the main ingredient is an extraordinarly gaijin thing known as "curry powder".
So what's the story anyway? How did "curry powder" (which doesn't even exist in India) become French and Japanese? Why are there "curry ramen noodles"? Why are there Singaporean "curry noodles"? Which Frenchmen first served "curried cauliflower soup" and "curry vinaigrette"?
To answer this question, we're gonna have to rewind the clock and examine the mores of the 19th century. And we're gonna find that the people behaved, quite unsurprisingly, like people at any other time and place.
In short, they craved novelty.
And once novelty was provided, an equivalent market opened up to serve the novelty at the cheapest possible price, or to phrase it in modern lingo, they "commoditized the consumption".
There are virtually no cultures that don't appreciate novelty. Once novelty is provided, instantaneously the influence becomes "indigenized" - converted into the "native" framework of cooking. This is as true of tomatoes in Italy as green peppers in Thailand as potatoes in India. None of these are native to any of the regions (they are all "New World".)
The short story is that with the rising power of the British Empire in India, it became fashionable to serve all things "Indian". Queen Victoria, the Empress of India, was photographed wearing stereotypical "maharani" regalia. She even went as far as to appoint an Indian khidmatgar (servant), Abdul Karim, who rose to be her chief confidant. Poems were written (see here) and balls held in London where the guests dressed up in "Indian" costume and ate "Indian" food.
Needless to say, the British East India company did everything it could to market this phenomenon. When men go mad, avenues open up to supply them with the very objects that they need to go mad with so that profits can be made.
Enter "curry powder" — marketed to busy housewives so that they didn't need to concern themselves with the details of the "very foreign, very difficult" yet "deeply desired, and exotic" cuisine.
Unsurprisingly, the cheapest stuff correctly marketed turns out to be a monster hit. Same today as in the 19th century.
Commercial curry powder consists of the four cheapest ingredients in Indian cuisine -- coriander, cumin, fenugreek and turmeric (the latter giving it its yellow color while the fenugreek carries the characteristic bitter edge.)
That it spread to France from Britain should come as no surprise to anyone. Les rosbifs have always exhibited more than a little cultural fascination for "the Frogs" (ditto for the reverse.)
But the fastidious Japanese?
Kare raisu singlehandedly fails every Japanese culinary norm. Unsubtle, pungent, oil-based — the muddy yellowish sludge poured over rice could not be less Japanese. And yet, it's to be found in every train station and shopping district. It's chowed down by locals at lunch like it was going out of fashion. Irony of ironies, it's one of the most-requested "home-cooked" dishes in Japan.
How did this inauthentic powder turn Japanese?
The answer, of course, is the East India Company that nakedly peddled this powder all through the West and the East. Imported verbatim from the British idea of the dish, one can clearly see echoes of the dish in the 1872 Seiyo Ryōri Tsu ("Western Cooking".) The recipe is nearly identical to modern concoctions.
However, that explains the origin of the dish but not its overwhelming popularity. For that, you must look at the dish itself. It's warm, cheap, soothing, hearty, filling — all qualities that the Japanese have traditionally respected as an agrarian society must. Cheap sustaining fare that fuels the working masses. Does that or does that sounds Japanese?
The origins aside, the brute fact is that "curry powder" is global. Has been global for more than two centuries now, and authencity be damned, quite delicious.
Curry Cauliflower Soup
Ingredients
1 head cauliflower (cut into florets)
1 red onion (diced loosely)
1 tbsp curry powder
olive oil
sea salt
black pepper
Recipe
Toss the cauliflower florets with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast in a 400°F oven for 30 minutes until lightly browned.
Fry the onion at a low heat for 10 minutes. Toss in the cauliflower, water, and curry powder and purée.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Pasta with Cauliflower, Raisins and Almonds
This recipe is so awesome that the CC has already posted it.
Twice.
Clearly, there was no response. So it's time for more high-pressure tactics. If one of you readers don't make it, and share in the mind-blowing gloriousness that is this recipe, and share your foodgasm with the rest of us, the CC will torture you by posting this recipe again and again until one of you surrenders.
The recipe has even been optimized for you slackers - you know who you are!
Yes, the CC has no shame! (But he does have cauliflowers.)
Ingredients
1 large cauliflower
1 large red onion (cut into very thin semi-rounds)
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup raisins
4 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 cups whole wheat pasta
4 tbsp capers (in salt not vinegar, finely chopped)
4 tbsp chives (finely chopped)
4 tbsp tarragon (finely chopped)
4 tbsp parsley (finely chopped)
parmigiano-reggiano
olive oil
salt
pepper
Recipe
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Stick the almonds to roast while the oven is preheating (roughly 10 mins.)
Toss the cauliflower florets with olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake in the oven until roasted and browned (roughly 40 mins.)
Meanwhile, put the raisins in vinegar, and add about a cup of water. Bring to a light boil for about 7 mins to plump the raisins. (Hint: the microwave is awesome at this task. Use it!)
Make the pasta just under al dente.
Heat some olive oil in a pan. Fry the onions until they are limp. Add the cauliflower, the raisins (with the liquid), all the herbs, salt and pepper, and the pasta. Toss well.
Serve topped with the roasted almonds, grated parmesan, and plenty of black pepper.
Twice.
Clearly, there was no response. So it's time for more high-pressure tactics. If one of you readers don't make it, and share in the mind-blowing gloriousness that is this recipe, and share your foodgasm with the rest of us, the CC will torture you by posting this recipe again and again until one of you surrenders.
The recipe has even been optimized for you slackers - you know who you are!
Yes, the CC has no shame! (But he does have cauliflowers.)
Ingredients
1 large cauliflower
1 large red onion (cut into very thin semi-rounds)
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup raisins
4 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 cups whole wheat pasta
4 tbsp capers (in salt not vinegar, finely chopped)
4 tbsp chives (finely chopped)
4 tbsp tarragon (finely chopped)
4 tbsp parsley (finely chopped)
parmigiano-reggiano
olive oil
salt
pepper
Recipe
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Stick the almonds to roast while the oven is preheating (roughly 10 mins.)
Toss the cauliflower florets with olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake in the oven until roasted and browned (roughly 40 mins.)
Meanwhile, put the raisins in vinegar, and add about a cup of water. Bring to a light boil for about 7 mins to plump the raisins. (Hint: the microwave is awesome at this task. Use it!)
Make the pasta just under al dente.
Heat some olive oil in a pan. Fry the onions until they are limp. Add the cauliflower, the raisins (with the liquid), all the herbs, salt and pepper, and the pasta. Toss well.
Serve topped with the roasted almonds, grated parmesan, and plenty of black pepper.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Cutting Cauliflowers
Far too many people don't know how to cut a cauliflower correctly.
The cauliflower is a fractal as has been explored repeatedly on this blog.
Hold the thing upside down and slice into the florets at a 40° angle. The outside florets will fall off. Keep rotating and doing this.
Now, do this again to each large floret cluster. That's what fractal means!
The cauliflower is a fractal as has been explored repeatedly on this blog.
Hold the thing upside down and slice into the florets at a 40° angle. The outside florets will fall off. Keep rotating and doing this.
Now, do this again to each large floret cluster. That's what fractal means!
Monday, April 12, 2010
Pasta with Cauliflower, Almonds & Raisins
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(Recipe: link)Hey! You people want entertainment daily but the CC only has so much time. At least, the photographs are a lot better!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
India Trip : Day 3
Food at a roadside dhaba.
Quite ordinary stuff - cauliflowers, chickpeas. Note the color of the carrots - they are red, and not quite as sweet as what are found in the US.
Ending the meal is a glass of masala chai, of course.
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Quite ordinary stuff - cauliflowers, chickpeas. Note the color of the carrots - they are red, and not quite as sweet as what are found in the US.
Ending the meal is a glass of masala chai, of course.
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Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Pasta with Cauliflower, Raisins & Breadcrumbs
Quite simply this is a sensational dish. It takes a little more time than a simple dish but the tastes and textures are simply out of this world!
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Ingredients
2 cups whole wheat pasta
1 cauliflower (cut into florets)
1/2 cup almonds
1/4 cup raisins
4 tbsp white wine vinegar
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 tbsp capers (chopped)
4 tbsp parsley (chopped)
1 tbsp tarragon (chopped)
1 tbsp chives (chopped)
olive oil
sea salt
black pepper
Recipe
Lots of steps but eminently parallelizable. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Mix the cauliflower with some olive oil and salt and plenty of black pepper and roast for 30-35 minutes until lightly browned.
Meanwhile in a skillet, roast the almonds for about 8-10 minutes at medium heat. Set aside.
Roast the breadcrumbs for just 15-30 seconds. Set aside.
Mix the raisins with some hot water and the vinegar. Set on a low boil for 5 minutes. (Incidentally, this is one of the rare cases where the microwave excels!)
Chop the almonds coarsely.
Cook the pasta in heavily salted water under al dente. Mix all the ingredients (including the water of the raisins) except the breadcrumbs. Top each dish with the breadcrumbs.
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Ingredients2 cups whole wheat pasta
1 cauliflower (cut into florets)
1/2 cup almonds
1/4 cup raisins
4 tbsp white wine vinegar
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 tbsp capers (chopped)
4 tbsp parsley (chopped)
1 tbsp tarragon (chopped)
1 tbsp chives (chopped)
olive oil
sea salt
black pepper
Recipe
Lots of steps but eminently parallelizable. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Mix the cauliflower with some olive oil and salt and plenty of black pepper and roast for 30-35 minutes until lightly browned.
Meanwhile in a skillet, roast the almonds for about 8-10 minutes at medium heat. Set aside.
Roast the breadcrumbs for just 15-30 seconds. Set aside.
Mix the raisins with some hot water and the vinegar. Set on a low boil for 5 minutes. (Incidentally, this is one of the rare cases where the microwave excels!)
Chop the almonds coarsely.
Cook the pasta in heavily salted water under al dente. Mix all the ingredients (including the water of the raisins) except the breadcrumbs. Top each dish with the breadcrumbs.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Roasted Curry Cauliflower Soup
The CC's mom used to make a cauliflower soup when he was growing up. He always felt that there was something missing. The soup was too boring and bland.
Of course, it wasn't the spices that were missing but Maestro Maillard.
The soup here takes longer to make(you don't have to do anything; you can lay back and drink your martini) but the results speak for themselves.
Ingredients
1 head cauliflower (cut into florets)
1 large red onion
1 1/2 tsp curry powder
olive oil
sea salt
black pepper
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Recipe
Preheat the oven to 450°F. Toss the cauliflower with olive oil, sea salt and plenty of black pepper. Roast for 25-30 minutes until it is lightly brown.
Fry the onions at medium low heat until they are softened. Add the roasted cauliflower, and the curry powder and fry for a minute or two. Add the water, and let it come to a boil. Skim if necessary.
Blend the mixture, and pass through a sieve. Reheat if needed.
Of course, it wasn't the spices that were missing but Maestro Maillard.
The soup here takes longer to make(you don't have to do anything; you can lay back and drink your martini) but the results speak for themselves.
Ingredients
1 head cauliflower (cut into florets)
1 large red onion
1 1/2 tsp curry powder
olive oil
sea salt
black pepper
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Recipe
Preheat the oven to 450°F. Toss the cauliflower with olive oil, sea salt and plenty of black pepper. Roast for 25-30 minutes until it is lightly brown.
Fry the onions at medium low heat until they are softened. Add the roasted cauliflower, and the curry powder and fry for a minute or two. Add the water, and let it come to a boil. Skim if necessary.
Blend the mixture, and pass through a sieve. Reheat if needed.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Cauliflower Gratin
Easy peasy shouldn't make anyone queasy.
Delightful with a salad as a complete meal.
Ingredients
1 large cauliflower (cut into florets; read below)
1.5 cups béchamel sauce
1 cup grated gruyère
1 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano
nutmeg
sea salt
black pepper
breadcrumbs
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Recipe
Blanch the cauliflower florets really quickly in hot salted water for no more than 3 mins, and immediately dunk in cold water to cool off. Let it drain.
Take some of the stalks of the cauliflower and put them in your food processor to get a crumbly mixture. (Alternately, just grate them with a box grater.)
Meanwhile, prepare the béchamel sauce.
Mix the cauliflower florets, cauliflower crumbs, the sauce, the cheeses, salt, pepper and nutmeg in an ovenproof dish. Top with the breadcrumbs.
Bake uncovered in a 375°F oven for roughly 20-25 mins until the top browns nicely. (The time will vary depending on the shape of your dish, and the consistency of your sauce.)
Delightful with a salad as a complete meal.
Ingredients
1 large cauliflower (cut into florets; read below)
1.5 cups béchamel sauce
1 cup grated gruyère
1 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano
nutmeg
sea salt
black pepper
breadcrumbs
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Recipe
Blanch the cauliflower florets really quickly in hot salted water for no more than 3 mins, and immediately dunk in cold water to cool off. Let it drain.
Take some of the stalks of the cauliflower and put them in your food processor to get a crumbly mixture. (Alternately, just grate them with a box grater.)
Meanwhile, prepare the béchamel sauce.
Mix the cauliflower florets, cauliflower crumbs, the sauce, the cheeses, salt, pepper and nutmeg in an ovenproof dish. Top with the breadcrumbs.
Bake uncovered in a 375°F oven for roughly 20-25 mins until the top browns nicely. (The time will vary depending on the shape of your dish, and the consistency of your sauce.)
Monday, July 14, 2008
Grated Cauliflower Frittata
Yeah, you heard that right, and it's gonna be a spicy Mediterranean affair.
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Ingredients
12 eggs
1 cauliflower (grated with a grater)
1 large red onion (diced fine)
veggies (grated carrots, peas, slivered beans)
1 tbsp harissa
1/2 cup grated parmiagiano-reggiano
1/4 cup flat parsley (chopped)
sea salt
black pepper
olive oil
Recipe
Fry the onions. Then the harissa. After you stop sneezing, fry the veggies.
Finally the cauliflower but really quickly because the brassica family will stink otherwise.
Let it all cool.
Meanwhile, beat the eggs, salt, pepper, parm in a bowl. Add the above mixture after it is cool.
Y'all know how to make a frittata, right? If not, haul your ass down to the archives and do some homework.
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Ingredients
12 eggs
1 cauliflower (grated with a grater)
1 large red onion (diced fine)
veggies (grated carrots, peas, slivered beans)
1 tbsp harissa
1/2 cup grated parmiagiano-reggiano
1/4 cup flat parsley (chopped)
sea salt
black pepper
olive oil
Recipe
Fry the onions. Then the harissa. After you stop sneezing, fry the veggies.
Finally the cauliflower but really quickly because the brassica family will stink otherwise.
Let it all cool.
Meanwhile, beat the eggs, salt, pepper, parm in a bowl. Add the above mixture after it is cool.
Y'all know how to make a frittata, right? If not, haul your ass down to the archives and do some homework.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Gingered Cauliflower
One of the CC's favorite "home" recipes. Particularly good when served with parathas.
Ingredients
1 large cauliflower (cut into florets)
5-6" ginger
4-5 Thai green chillies (substitute with serranos.)
1 tbsp roasted cumin (ground into a powder)
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tbsp garam masala
oil
salt to taste
Recipe
Grind the ginger and green chillies into a paste. (This is where food processors rock! Just try and use the minimum amount of water to get a paste with some texture.)
Fry some oil. Fry the ginger paste. Toss in the spices, and the cauliflower. Sautée for a while. Add some water, and let it cook until done.
Sometimes the CC adds fresh beans.
Oddly enough, this is one of the few cauliflower recipes that does not work with broccoli.
Ingredients
1 large cauliflower (cut into florets)
5-6" ginger
4-5 Thai green chillies (substitute with serranos.)
1 tbsp roasted cumin (ground into a powder)
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tbsp garam masala
oil
salt to taste
Recipe
Grind the ginger and green chillies into a paste. (This is where food processors rock! Just try and use the minimum amount of water to get a paste with some texture.)
Fry some oil. Fry the ginger paste. Toss in the spices, and the cauliflower. Sautée for a while. Add some water, and let it cook until done.
Sometimes the CC adds fresh beans.
Oddly enough, this is one of the few cauliflower recipes that does not work with broccoli.
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