Showing posts with label cauliflower. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cauliflower. Show all posts
Saturday, April 5, 2014
Baked Cauliflower in Tomato sauce
Okay, so there are people who dont like cauliflower and some who dont like me posting recipes with cauliflower in them ;) If you are reading this, youll know this is for you!
Winter is officially over in Hyd with temperatures raring to touch 40 C. At such times, I still find spotlessly white head of cauliflower waiting to be picked up and used, so what else can I do but that? The idea for this dish comes a recipe I found in the book- From Bengal to Punjab : the cuisines of India by Smita Chandra - which has a very interesting collection of recipes and most of them are available on preview in the link above.
Ive tried the recipe Gobhi Mazedar from this book, which turned out superb. In fact, the hubby and me ate off the stuff from the baking dish and that was our dinner that night.
This time to pair with the pasta, I tried an Italian version of this dish - which turned out as good. In fact if you have a good loaf of bread on hand, you can dish out an excellent meal with just the bread and this baked cauliflower dish. There are two ways to do the dish - either deal with the cauliflower whole or break into large florets which will cook / bake faster if you are short of time.
---------------------------------------
Baked cauliflower in tomato sauce
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
1 large cauliflower roughly 750 grams - very fresh
10 medium tomatoes
2 tsp olive oil
3 medium onions
8 cloves of garlic
2 tsp chilli flakes
2 tsp oregano
2 tsp dried basil
salt and pepper
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup grated cheese of your choice (optional)
The Cauliflower
Remove the stalks of the cauliflower. Discard or reserve for another use.
If you have a pot big enough to hold the whole flower, then fill it with around 2L water. Add 2 tsp salt. Let it come to a boil. Meanwhile keep the cauliflower immersed in a large pot of salted water to remove any worms if present.
If you dont have a pot big enough or not enough time on hand, then break the cauliflower into big florets and keep immersed in salted water, until a pot of water comes to a boil.
When the water starts to boil, remove the cauliflower from the salted water and place it in the pot bottom down (if using whole). Cover and cook for around 10-12 minutes, checking until almost done. The florets will take shorter time, around 6-7 minutes, so keep a watch. Dont let them turn too soft.
Once this is done, drain, wipe thoroughly with tea towel and keep aside.
The sauce
Wash tomatoes well. Halve them and throw them in a pot. Let them cook in their own juices on medium heat. No need to add water. Stir around occasionally until they get mashed to a pulp. At this stage you could pass them through a strainer to remove the skins or keep it as it is (which is what I did). Remove and cool.
In a saucepan, heat 2 tsp olive oil. Add the cruches garlic cloves and sliced onions, stir until the garlic is light golden and onion is soft.
In a blender, place the cooled tomatoes, onion, garlic, herbs, salt and pepper - whir to a very smooth sauce. If you find this runny, which could happen if your tomatoes were very juicy, take this back in the saucepan and thicken with a slurry made from 1 tbsp flour and 1/4 cup water, simmer till thick and then proceed with recipe.
Assembling
Grease a 9" round baking dish. Place the cauliflower in it. Reserve 1/2 cup sauce to use while serving. For whole cauliflower, spoon the sauce between all the florets and whatever sauce remains, pour it and rub it over the top, so the flavours enter every nook and cranny.
For the florets, arrange the florets stem down - neatly in a baking dish that accommodates it all - pour the tomato sauce (reserving 1/2 cup) all over and around the florets, pressing well.
The dish can be prepared up to this stage, covered well and refrigerated for a day or two, to be removed and baked just before serving.
Baking
Cover the top of the dish with bread crumbs, cheese, extra herbs, pepper and bake in a 180 C oven for around 30 minutes, unthttp://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=23919567il cheese is melted and golden.
Serve hot along with a simple pasta (preferably not in a tomato sauce) or with slices of bread.
Please do try the original recipe Gobhi Mazedar. Youll enjoy browsing that cookbook online, it has a fantastic collection of recipes. Better still if you can lay your hands on it in your bookshop / library, you can see the book in its entirety. If the link does not work, you can try searching in Google ebooks for Smita Chandra Gobhi Mazedar.
This is a very hearty flavoursome dish which will make a great addition to your menu for an Italian party. I served this with Penne in Spinach sauce and the green and red complemented each other beautifully.
Monday, March 24, 2014
Cauliflower with fenugreek greens in spicy peanut gravy
Its nearing end Jan and finally we winter-starved Bombayites are finally feeling some cool. Afternoons are still hot. The tiled flooring does turn cold though. The cold water in the wash-basin gives me a little jolt as I sleepily open it early in the morning, reminding me that - Hey girl, enjoy this while it lasts.
I love all spices. Especially so, at this time of the year, when our body yearns for it. Ive gone all out with my spices in this recipe, dressed up the benign cauliflower in flavours it didnt know existed. Its like turning an ice maiden Aishwarya Rai into a hot sizzling Mallika Sherawat! If you dont know who these babes are, dont worry. Im sure you got the idea though. The peanuts were added on second thoughts, to make the gravy a little milder and creamier without adding any dairy cream. It turned out good. Real good. In fact, the day I made this, DH had an unusually long day at work. I for once didnt complain as I dug into the whole darn bowl myself. Yeah! That good. Try out and youll know Im sticking by my new year resolutions :D
And hey friends, I havent forgotten about the WBB 8 round up. I just got some respite from work and I wasnt in the mood for some more serious work like battling with blogger to do a round up. Itll come up soon with a new theme as well.
Cauliflower in spicy peanut gravy
Category: Vegetables, side, Indian curry, Spicy food, Winter food
Cooking time: About 20 minutes
Serves 3
Recipe source: My own
2 cups cauliflower florets - largish
1 cup finely chopped fenugreek leaves
For the masala
3-4 red chillies
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp sesame seeds
1 small stick cinnamon
2 cloves
2 cardamoms
5-6 black peppers
1 sprig curry leaves
3-4 cloves garlic
2 medium onions - sliced
1 tsp salt or to taste
1/4 cup or handful of roasted peanuts
Salt to taste
Wash the florets in plenty of salted water. Drain and keep aside.
For the masala, on a low flame, roast all ingredients except the onions and garlic. Roast till aromatic. Remove from the kadai onto a dish and let it cool. Meanwhile, take a tsp of oil in the same kadai, put in the sliced onions and garlic with tsp of salt. Saute till translucent. Remove from the kadai and cool.
In a mixer, grind the roasted spices, onion-garlic and the peanuts into a very fine paste, adding upto half cup of water.
In a cooker or a pressure pan, heat a tsp of oil. Splutter some cumin seeds and then pour the masala paste. Stir around for a good 5 minutes or so. We wont wait for any oil to separate here because we didnt use much oil to start with. Throw in the cleaned cauliflower florets and the greens. Add upto a cup of water and let the florets simmer in the paste for around 3-5 minutes before closing the lid of the cooker.
Allow just one whistle to escape. Switch off the gas and take the cooker off the burner immediately. The remaining pressure in the cooker is enough to cook the florets just enough without turning them into a mash. Another reason why they wont turn to a mash is because we keep the florets big enough not to cook too soon. If you want to try this in a saucepan (no cooker scenario), then by all means break the cauli into smaller florets for faster cooking.
After 10-15 minutes, the cooker would have cooled. Open the lid carefully. Check for salt. Serve hot with any Indian bread or plain steamed rice. A cold salad on the side will complement the heat of this curry beautifully.
Tags: Cauliflower, curry, winter recipe, spicy curry, peanuts
Read More..
I love all spices. Especially so, at this time of the year, when our body yearns for it. Ive gone all out with my spices in this recipe, dressed up the benign cauliflower in flavours it didnt know existed. Its like turning an ice maiden Aishwarya Rai into a hot sizzling Mallika Sherawat! If you dont know who these babes are, dont worry. Im sure you got the idea though. The peanuts were added on second thoughts, to make the gravy a little milder and creamier without adding any dairy cream. It turned out good. Real good. In fact, the day I made this, DH had an unusually long day at work. I for once didnt complain as I dug into the whole darn bowl myself. Yeah! That good. Try out and youll know Im sticking by my new year resolutions :D
And hey friends, I havent forgotten about the WBB 8 round up. I just got some respite from work and I wasnt in the mood for some more serious work like battling with blogger to do a round up. Itll come up soon with a new theme as well.
Cauliflower in spicy peanut gravy
Category: Vegetables, side, Indian curry, Spicy food, Winter food
Cooking time: About 20 minutes
Serves 3
Recipe source: My own
2 cups cauliflower florets - largish
1 cup finely chopped fenugreek leaves
For the masala
3-4 red chillies
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp sesame seeds
1 small stick cinnamon
2 cloves
2 cardamoms
5-6 black peppers
1 sprig curry leaves
3-4 cloves garlic
2 medium onions - sliced
1 tsp salt or to taste
1/4 cup or handful of roasted peanuts
Salt to taste
Wash the florets in plenty of salted water. Drain and keep aside.
For the masala, on a low flame, roast all ingredients except the onions and garlic. Roast till aromatic. Remove from the kadai onto a dish and let it cool. Meanwhile, take a tsp of oil in the same kadai, put in the sliced onions and garlic with tsp of salt. Saute till translucent. Remove from the kadai and cool.
In a mixer, grind the roasted spices, onion-garlic and the peanuts into a very fine paste, adding upto half cup of water.
In a cooker or a pressure pan, heat a tsp of oil. Splutter some cumin seeds and then pour the masala paste. Stir around for a good 5 minutes or so. We wont wait for any oil to separate here because we didnt use much oil to start with. Throw in the cleaned cauliflower florets and the greens. Add upto a cup of water and let the florets simmer in the paste for around 3-5 minutes before closing the lid of the cooker.
Allow just one whistle to escape. Switch off the gas and take the cooker off the burner immediately. The remaining pressure in the cooker is enough to cook the florets just enough without turning them into a mash. Another reason why they wont turn to a mash is because we keep the florets big enough not to cook too soon. If you want to try this in a saucepan (no cooker scenario), then by all means break the cauli into smaller florets for faster cooking.
After 10-15 minutes, the cooker would have cooled. Open the lid carefully. Check for salt. Serve hot with any Indian bread or plain steamed rice. A cold salad on the side will complement the heat of this curry beautifully.
Tags: Cauliflower, curry, winter recipe, spicy curry, peanuts
Friday, March 21, 2014
Cauliflower Pizza Crust A Paleo Pizza Story
After a week in Ireland eating potatoes (on the side of my potatoes) and two weeks of eating out to avoid creating more clutter in the midst of a move, Im ready to get back to my paleo meals. Like any addict though, Im gonna have to ween myself off crack flour and sugar slowly, lest I suffer from night sweats and bouts of withdrawal-induced shock. What better way to trick my body (and tastebuds) into thinking were not kicking these bad habits any time soon than with a paleo version of pizza??
I imagine Ill be making iterations of this non-stop over the next several weeks.
Cauliflower Pizza Crust For People Who Have Souls
Makes one pizza crust, roughly 8 large slices
- 1 head cauliflower
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese
- 1-2 eggs, beaten
- 1 tsp. oregano
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. "Rice" the cauliflower by chopping it into small chunks and pulsing quickly in a food processor until it looks like short grains of rice. Dont overpulse or youll puree it and thats no good. Alternatively, you can grate the cauliflower on a cheese grater as well.
3. Microwave cauliflower "rice" for 8 minutes. Dont add any water to this. Theres enough water in the cauliflower.
4. Mix cauliflower, cheese, egg, and seasoning with your hands. Start with one egg. If the mixture feels dry, add slightly more egg until it starts to bind or come together.
5. Pat the crust on to a WELL oiled/PAMd cookie sheet covered with foil. You can make it any shape or thickness you like.
6. Bake for 15 minutes.
7. Top with your choice of ingredients (must be cooked) and place under broiler until the cheese is bubbly and golden brown.
Friday, March 7, 2014
Cream of Cauliflower – Come for the Soup Stay for the Bacon Gremolata
Of course, human nature being what it is, I wasn’t satisfied with just the soup, and wanted to garnish with something new and exciting. Unfortunately, I couldn’t think of anything, so I decided to follow that age-old advice which says, “when in doubt, bacon.”
I’ve garnished soups like this with bacon before, but never tried toasting breadcrumbs in the rendered fat. Not surprisingly, it worked very well, and the additions of lemon zest and parsley elevated things even more. The only problem with a recipe like this is the next time I’m served a cream of cauliflower, no matter how good it is, I’m going to be a little sad there’s no bacon gremolata floating on top.
By the way, I realize there are no breadcrumbs in a true gremolata, but I thought it sounded kind of cool, and besides, I’ve never been that big on respecting the sanctity of culinary terms. I was going to go with “baconized breadcrumbs,” but that sounded a little too much like molecular gastronomy, which is much worse.
If you’re not into eating animals, some diced shiitake mushrooms and a pinch of smoked paprika would be a great substitute in the gremolata. You’d also need to add some olive oil to replace the rendered bacon fat, but you probably knew that.
Now that I think about it, that vegetarian version sounds pretty amazing as well. Maybe next time I’ll skip the bacon and…oh, who am I kidding? Anyway, I hope you give this delicious fall soup a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for about 8 servings:
1 onion, chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic
salt to taste
1 large russet potato, peeled, quartered
2 heads cauliflower, trimmed
1 quart chicken broth
1 quart water
1/2 cup cream
cayenne to taste
For the gremolata:
4 strips bacon
1 1/2 cups fresh breadcrumbs
1 tbsp lemon zest
2 tbsp chopped Italian parsley
View the complete recipe
1 tbsp lemon zest
2 tbsp chopped Italian parsley
View the complete recipe
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)