Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Roasted Cauliflower
A word about this delectable dish. I first encountered the idea in an article in Cook's Illustrated. The author asked, "why does anyone boil cauliflower?" Good question! She suggested instead a fairly elaborate roasting procedure, involving a particular method of cutting, a small amount of olive oil, and a three-stage roasting process (involving foil). I tried it several times, and indeed she is right: roasting makes cauliflower irresistable. However, after some more experimentation, I offer this alternative method: separate the cauliflower into its constituent florets and toss them with lots of olive oil and kosher salt. Dump them in a nice heavy roasting pan and pop them into a 400 degree oven for about an hour (stir once half way through, if you think about it). The cauliflower will emerge sizzling, with a mahogany patina where it touched the pan, and so good I dare you not to finish it right then and there. I myself ate an entire head last night.
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6 comments:
Since you're blogging the subject, my girls have become big fans of pureed cauliflower, which tastes so much like mashed potatoes they adopted it without question. Steam florets, process well in the cuisinart with butter, salt, and a few tablespoons of the steam water.
Lee
Good idea. If I could get Ingrid to eat it it would be her very first vegetable.
Lovely idea. I've always been a bit daunted by cauliflower. Roasting has become my favorite veg prep. I like to dice carrots, potatoes, onions, and parsnips, and roast them on jelly roll pans with olive oil and dried herbs at 400 for 30-40 minutes. I shall try this cauliflower idea very soon.
Yes--roasting. It is the magic ticket. Parsnips! I didn't even know we could get them here--I'm going to try that.
You can indeed buy a one-pound bag of parsnips here, in a blue and white bag, and take note of where they come from: Hudsonville, Michigan, where I lived from 8-18. Weird.
I do almost the same, but use a cast iron pan and broil them. It does take some more stirring, but they end up gloriously crisp and even charred (which I like)
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