Wednesday, February 8, 2012

A Month of Food Blogging (6 of 28) : Caramelized cauliflower



This one is a perennial favorite around our house. The baby adores cauliflower, and even my initially dubious husband thinks this is pretty darned delicious. The caramelization gives it a nice toasty flavor, and destroys that pesky sulfurous smell that brassica is prone to. And the browned butter with curry makes your entire kitchen smell great. (Although if you don't have curry on hand, this is pretty tasty even without.)

Microwaving it bootstraps the cooking process, making this a great last-minute dish. (And by last minute, I mean "oh shoot, the pasta is already done, and I forgot to make a vegetable.")

Caramelized cauliflower


Servings: 2 (4 if you're less greedy about your cauliflower.)
Time: 7 minutes
Planning Ahead: None
The Funny Stuff: Curry powder, garam masala
Virtues: Cauliflower! Vitamin C, potassium, B6, all that jazz.
Downsides: Butter.
Calories: 120

Ingredients
1 small head of cauliflower
olive oil or cooking spray
1 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp mild curry powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
salt

Directions
Chop cauliflower into medium chunks. Try to make sure most chunks have at least one flat surface to caramelize. Pop it in a microwave safe bowl, loosely covered, and microwave it for 4 minutes.


Preheat and oil a skillet on medium-high. When the cauliflower is done microwaving it, toss it in the skillet, and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Cook until one side is golden brown, and stir.


Remove the cauliflower from the pan, and set aside. Melt the butter in the skillet until it starts to brown very slightly.


Toss in the curry and garam masala, and let them get nice and fragrant.


Drizzle the browned butter over the cauliflower.


We had this with fish and a mediterranean pasta toss: lemon juice, olive oil, feta, sun-dried tomatoes, etc.


And baby had the same, and loved it. (Minus the feta.)



Photo credits to Aaron Wood and Aleatha Parker-Wood.

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