Elements: Roast cauliflower a tasty Thanksgiving side dish
Published: November 25, 2009, 12:30 am
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Cauliflower— the pale relative of broccoli and cabbage —has a boring reputation but solid resume. Its use dates back 3,000 years to the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. Once the plant, grown for its unopened flower, made it to England about a millennium ago, it was known as “Cyprus colewort.”
It has become much prized in Middle Eastern and Indian cuisines, whether battered and deep-fried, pickled, or stir-fried with fragrant spice mixtures. In the United States, it has often been relegated to steaming, or served with a merciful mantle of cheese sauce.
Cauliflower purees easily, making it an apt base for creamy soups, or partner with potatoes in a platter of holiday mashed vegetables.
In a hot oven, though, cauliflower shows its rugged side. Roasted cauliflower gains flavor and tenderness as it browns, ending up tasting a bit like french fries. Classy, vitamin-packed french fries.
Table manners: Writer Mark Twain wasn’t a fan of the cauliflower, widely grown across the United States in the 1800s. “Cauliflower,” he wrote, “is nothing but a cabbage with a college education.”
Late for dinner: Cauliflower’s cousin broccoli was late arriving in the British Isles, where it was dubbed “sprout cauliflower.”
This salad marries earthy roasted cauliflower with a Greek-inspired mix of feta cheese, roasted red peppers and a lemony oregano vinaigrette.
Roasted cauliflower salad
1 head cauliflower, cored and sliced a inch thick
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup roasted red peppers
1/2 cup chopped parsley
6 ounces feta cheese, or more, sliced
6 tablespoons olive oil, preferably extra virgin
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons dried oregano
Salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In large bowl, toss cauliflower with vegetable oil. Add moderate amount of salt and pepper. Put cauliflower in single layer on sheet pans, and put in oven.
Roast until browned and crispy at edges, turning each piece at least once for even browning, 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven.
In small bowl, whisk oregano into lemon juice. While whisking, add olive oil in thin stream until incorporated. Scoop roasted cauliflower into large bowl. Toss with lemon mixture. Add feta, peppers, and parsley, and toss again. Add salt and pepper as necessary. Serve warm or at room temperature. Serves 6-8.
Watch cauliflower become a Thanksgiving side dish in this video:
agalarneau@buffnews.com
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