What To Do With a Head of Cauliflower

To some, this post may be incredibly random. Well, it kind of is. I had no intention of dedicating an entire post to cauliflower; but this past week I found myself with an excess of the pearly white vegetable chillin' in my fridge. So, after making four incredibly delectable dishes (five, if you include the soup Brendan made for my birthday), I thought that I would share my newfound appreciation for the overlooked, easily forgotten, wannabe-broccoli, that is cauliflower. For those of you who insist that you hate cauliflower, I have one thing to say to you: come on now, are you 5 years old? Seriously, what mature, intelligent, adult pulls the "mommy, I don't like it" line (said in a whiny voice) anymore? Grow a pair, and start opening your taste buds up to new experiences. Who knows, perhaps trying new foods will inspire you to be more adventurous in other parts of your life...just saying ;)


In order to explain why I had so much cauliflower at my house, I need to quickly tell you one awesome aspect about my job. As you know, I work for a program that coordinates and teaches healthy cooking courses for low-income families. We have a relatively small office, with not nearly enough pantry or refrigerator space for the copious amounts of ingredients we use for and bring back from these classes. So on Fridays we do a clean-out of the office refrigerator, and anything that is going bad or won't be used the next week, we get to take home. Last Friday, I called dibs on the cauliflower - no recipes in mind, no concrete plans of how to use it. I brought my bounty home, but quickly realized I wouldn't be doing any real cooking over the weekend, as it was my birthday - I was either eating out, or others were cooking for me. For the time being, cauliflower had to be put on the back burner.


Then on Sunday, Brendan cooked a wonderful three-course meal for my birthday. The first course was a Cauliflower Soup with White Truffle Oil (snazzy, I know, and DELICIOUS too!). 

But Brendan hadn't seen the large amount of cauliflower already in my fridge, and therefore bought his own head of cauliflower in order to make the soup. The leftover cauliflower, not used in the soup, was added to my stockpile of the crunchy white vegetable. Even more cauliflower with which to experiment...


I doubt that many of you find yourselves with an overflow of cauliflower in your refrigerators. As I referenced above, cauliflower is not a go-to veggie for most people. But take it from me, the recipes I discovered - while trying to use up my cauliflower supply - are mouth-watering and easy to make. For those of you who are intrigued, here's what you can do with a head of cauliflower:

Dinner #1: Cauliflower Steaks with Olive-Relish over Sauteed Kale 

(adapted from Bon Appetit)

It looks complicated because there are so many components, but I promise this is actually a rather quick meal to make!

Serves 1

For Olive Relish:
-5 cured black olives, pitted & minced
-1 garlic clove, minced
-1 tablespoon capers
-handful of parsley, chopped finely
-1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
-1/2 tablespoon olive oil
...Combine all ingredients together in a small bowl



For Cauliflower:

-1/4 cauliflower head, cut into thick pieces (i.e. "steaks")
...Preheat oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit.
...Sautee cauliflower in pan with a little bit of olive oil, until golden brown on both sides (about 2 minutes each side
...Transfer cauliflower to baking sheet & bake in oven for 20 minutes



For Tomato Sauce:
-1 plum tomato, diced
-2 garlic cloves, minced
...Sautee garlic cloves (use same pan from cauliflower) with a bit of olive oil for about 1 minute
...Add tomatoes and cook until tomatoes become a sauce-like consistency (10-15 minutes)
...Keep warm over low heat 


For Sauteed Kale:
-2 cups kale, chopped
-1 small shallot, minced
-1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
...Sautee shallots in pan over medium heat, until translucent (about 5 minutes)
...Add red pepper flakes, stir for 1 minute
...Add kale, cook until wilted

To Serve:

-Layer 1: sauteed kale

-Layer 2: tomato sauce

-Layer 3: cauliflower steak

-Layer 4: olive relish

Top with fresh grated parmesan or pecorino cheese!

Lunch: Cauliflower Tabouli Salad

(Adapted from Moosewood Cookbook: Cooking for Health)

Serves 1

Mix together: 2 cups cauliflower (chopped), 1/2 plum tomato (chopped), 5 cured black olives (minced), 1 clove of garlic (minced), large handful of parsley (chopped), 1/4 avocado (chopped), 1-2 scallions (chopped), 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, 1/2 tablespoon olive oil (or more to taste), pinch of salt & pepper

Eat with pita bread!

Dinner #2: Sicilian Cauliflower Pasta

(adapted from Food Network Magazine)

Serves 2

...Cook penne pasta (or any other kind of your choosing) according to package - reserve 1/4 cup pasta water after pasta is cooked

...Sauté  1 garlic clove (minced) and 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes in 1 tablespoon olive oil, over medium heat (about 1 minute)

...Add 1-2 cups cauliflower (chopped - small pieces) and small handful of golden raisins to pan; sauté until cauliflower is cooked through (7-10 minutes) 

...Add 1/4 cup parsley (minced) and 1/4 cup basil (minced) to pan, cook for 1 more minute

...Add cooked pasta and reserved pasta water to pan; combine everything well

...Serve with fresh grated parmesan/pecorino cheese

*try adding toasted walnuts or pecans!

Breakfast: Cauliflower Egg Scramble

Serves 2

...In medium skillet, combine 1/2 tablespoon olive oil and 2 scallions (chopped), cook for 2 minutes

...Add 1 1/2 cups cauliflower (finely chopped), cook for 5 minutes (until cauliflower becomes tender)

...Add 1/2 plum tomato (chopped), cook for additional 2 minutes, then add small handful of parsley (minced)

...Whisk 4 eggs together, then add to skillet and cook until eggs are done

...Add a pinch of salt and pepper, optional garnish of extra parsley and/or fresh grated cheese

*Tastes great when served with cheesy grits or toast & jam!

Keep It Simple

We live in a world where the zanier and more complex something is, the better. I just finished making a soup that required two pans, a soup pot, and an immersion blender. It tastes fantastic. It required a lot of time, skill, and energy, so I'm proud of the accomplishment. It also left me with a big frickin' pile of dishes to clean. I don't know about you, but sometimes I forget that "simple" can be quite enjoyable; at times, simplicity is actually what we're looking for to satisfy a craving, desire, or need. 

This past Thursday I arrived home exhausted from a late evening of work, but excited to cook myself a delicious dinner. While deciding what to make I came across this recipe in the Moosewood Restaurant Cooking For Health cookbook: Polenta with Greens and Eggs. I was intrigued, and astonished, by how few ingredients are involved (basically three) and how effortless the dish seems. Then I became skeptical if the dish would even taste good...if it's not a challenge, how could it be great, right? However, I had all the ingredients, and the recipe called for greens of any kind - the perfect chance to use the remainder of the broccoli rabe I had from Saturday's fish dinner. So despite my apprehension, I decided to try the recipe out. Boy am I glad I did. 


Even though the original recipe is for four, I easily adjusted it for one: 
Three main ingredients: polenta (aka yellow cornmeal), greens (you choose...swiss chard, kale, spinach, broccoli rabe), eggs (1-2...your choice).
Pantry item ingredients you'll need: 1-2 garlic cloves (minced), olive oil, red pepper flakes, balsamic vinegar.


First, make the polenta: cook one serving (3 tablespoons) according to the package. Once cooked, turn the burner off & keep polenta warm by keeping the top on the sauce pan. 

Second, make the greens (make sure you chop the stems and leaves of your greens separately): sauté minced garlic cloves, a little bit of olive oil, a pinch of red pepper flakes, and the stems from your greens for a few minutes. 

Then, add the leaves of your greens and cook until leaves are just wilted and still a nice, bright color. Turn off burner, add a dash (like, 1/2 tablespoon) of balsamic vinegar, then transfer greens to a bowl.

Third, make the eggs: in the same pan, drizzle a tiny bit more olive oil. Crack each egg carefully (make sure the yolk doesn't break!), add about 1 teaspoon of water on top of the eggs, cover the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes (until egg whites are completely set, but yolks have not hardened).

*Side note: I have never made eggs this pretty before and turns out it is SO easy to do!


Fourth, put it all together: polenta on the bottom, greens on top, eggs over greens.

I added a bit of grated parmesan cheese and cracked pepper, which is not in the original recipe.

Delicious, nutritious, easy, and quick. Don't underestimate the value of recipe that only uses a few ingredients, with hardly any prep work, and very little cook time. In addition to being the perfect meal for a hectic workday, this dish is a great slap in the face when you need a reminder that not all satisfying parts of life need to stem from conquering a challenge. Sometimes simplicity is just what we need. Keep it simple - you won't be disappointed.

Recipes From the Pantry: Egg and Rice Bowl

So I realize I'm being super slow about posting these "recipes from your pantry" and I apologize. Honestly, I've been swamped with work and sadly haven't cooked anything interesting as of late - I've relied predominantly on my staple pantry items to get me through the past two weeks! Here's the next installment of the I'm-too-busy-to-make-anything-cooler recipes: Egg and Rice Bowl


Ingredients:
-1 egg 
-1 egg white
-2-3 scallions, diced (or 1/2 cup of onions, diced)
-1 garlic clove, minced
-1 teaspoon ginger, minced
-1/4 cup dry brown rice (or white...but brown has more fiber!)
-1 tablespoon canola oil, divided
**per usual, the addition of other veggies you have roaming around in your fridge/freezer make this dish much more interesting! Top veggie recommendations for this recipe: broccoli and/or red bell pepper. If using other veggies, add them after the scallions in step 4.


Directions:
1. Heat 1/2 tablespoon canola oil in saucepan; add minced garlic, ginger, and dry rice
2. Sauté for about 1 minute --> add 1/2 cup of water --> bring to boil, reduce to simmer and cover (cooking time of rice should be stated on bag)
3. In small bowl, beat egg + egg white together with a fork; add about 1 tablespoon of water and beat until well mixed; add some black pepper is you so desire
4. Heat remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil in sauté pan --> add 1/2 of diced scallions (or all of onions, if using instead); sauté until scallions start to wilt (or onions become translucent)
5. Add beaten eggs to pan with scallions and scramble; reduce heat to low once eggs are fully cooked, to keep them warm (nothing worse than cold eggs...ew!)   
6. When all the water is absorbed in the rice, fluff the rice with a fork --> transfer to a bowl & pour eggs on top of rice
7. Top eggs with remaining diced scallions and enjoy! 
If you have soy sauce, pour a little on top of eggs/rice for some additional Asian flavor!


I promise, more exciting advice and recipes to come soon!