I Heart Cauliflower

Cauliflower has become the new darling of the culinary world. People just keep discovering new and wonderful ways to prepare it, and I for one, couldn't be happier. I mean, I could eat oven roasted cauliflower florets for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. But I have to give major props to those folks who are doing really interesting things with this cruciferous treat. I've tried a few; I've made cauliflower pizza crust (good, but a lot of work for a little pizza), roasted a whole head of cauliflower and cut it into "steaks" to use as the center of the plate for dinner, made cauliflower "rice", and the other night, I made an alfredo type sauce out of pureed cauliflower and potatoes. That's the one I'm going to talk about here, because it's going to be one of my favorite easy "go to" dinners from now on.

Let's take a look at cauliflower first, shall we?
Pretty, huh? Wait, check out the Romanesco variety:
How cool is that?
Cauliflower is part of the Brassica Oleracea family, which also includes broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, collards and kale. The vegetable dates back to the 6th century BC. It originated in the Middle East, and was brought to Western Europe in the 16th century. In the 1800's, the British introduced it to India, where it has become a staple of their cuisine.
Cauliflower is low in fat and carbohydrates, and high in fiber, folate, Vitamin C and Vitamin K. Studies are showing that it has both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits. Also, since it is a good source of fiber, it helps support digestive health.
Oh, and it's delicious.

So, back to my "Alfredo" sauce. I took about a half a head of cauliflower, broken into florets, and two medium sized peeled and diced Idaho potatoes, a couple cloves of garlic and threw them into a pot. I covered them with vegetable stock and boiled until they were soft. Then, I pureed the whole deal, and seasoned it with a little salt, pepper and nutmeg. This all can be prepared in advance of the meal.
I cooked up some fettuccine. While that was boiling, I dipped a small strainer with broccoli florets into the pot to blanch them. When the pasta was done, I drained it (saving a bit of the cooking water) and dropped it into a big mixing bowl. I added the broccoli, enough sauce to coat, a little of the leftover pasta water to thin it a bit (this is optional) and some grated Parmesan and Asiago cheese. Tossed the whole deal around in the bowl with a pair of tongs until it was well coated, and rechecked the seasoning.

 

Now, I'm not going to say that it tastes like it has cream in it, but since I am lactose intolerant and don't eat true Alfredo sauce, I don't care. It DOES have a really nice, rich vegetable flavor. In fact, all three of us had seconds! It's vegetarian, but you can add chicken or shrimp if you like. Oh, and if you don't use all of the sauce, just heat it up and eat it for soup!

 

Yay cauliflower!