Cauliflower Dinner Drama

I was not sure what to name this cauliflower post as the two of us have had a few ups and downs. Growing up in southern California we did not eat a lot of this particular veggie…. Not sure why but this is what I can remember. My mom’s homegrown and hand-made pickled beets and applesauce. We had a garden and an apple tree when I was a kid. The applesauce was amazing and the pickled beets were okay. Forward to this day now it’s the other way around. Both still are wonderful , but today it is all about the cauliflower.

I first prepared the mash. I love potatoes, love them. But after the uhmm shall we say the slightly over indulgent holidays, I wanted to slim down a few pounds. And since everyone has been talking up this particular mash for a years now I decided to break down and prepare them.

I spruced these up with a little cream cheese, Parmesan cheese and garlic. They were light and surprisingly so full of flavor. I have made them twice since then and how not looked back. This morning I had them with a soft boiled egg and kale sprouts, obviously I’m addicted. By the way these were a winner in my book. 

The second dish I prepared was the cauliflower steaks, easy right, very simple. I cut them into slices (steaks) and drizzled them with a little olive oil and a sprinkle of sumac. So simple and delicious, no reason to change a thing here.

The first year I started blogging was in 2010 and at that time was not brave enough to tell anyone (that took a couple of years) that I even had a blog. I prepared a stove-top version. This recipe has turned out to be the most reviewed recipe on my site, Stove-Top Carmelized Cauliflower with Chive Onions. 

Since I was on a roll I bought again more cauliflower and decided on the grand finale. Manicotti shells stuffed with ricotta cheese, roasted butternut squash, roasted cremini mushrooms and steamed kale. The sauce was a cauliflower sauce. I spent the most time preparing this dish only to scoop out a slice for each of us and throw the rest away. Visually a horrible concept.

Cauliflower drama…….

For the cauliflower mash:

Ingredients:

1 medium head of cauliflower, cut into florets (remember they are all different sizes in this recipe you kind of have to wing it).
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium clove garlic (grated)
2 tablespoons cream cheese
¼ cup Parmesan cheese (grated)
Salt and pepper to taste

To prepare:

Steam florets until fork tender, about 8 to 10 minutes.

In a medium sized heavy skillet warm olive oil, add garlic, stir about one to two minutes, remove from stove-top.

Transfer cauliflower, garlic, cream cheese and Parmesan cheese to food processor, blend until veggies are creamy, taste, season with salt and pepper. Enjoy!

For the roasted cauliflower steaks:

Preheat oven to 400 °

Ingredients:

1 head cauliflower

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 pinch sumac

Salt and pepper to taste

To prepare:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut the cauliflower lengthwise, including the stalk, into 3/4-inch slices and place on a large baking sheet. Brush olive oil and sprinkle sumac, salt and pepper.

Roast for 25 minutes, or until the tops are lightly browned in places and the stems are easily pierced with a fork.

Cauliflower is at its best from December through March in the southwest and plentiful in our local markets.

* Had to re-publish this post, forgot the recipes the first time.*