This is most certainly a post that is not catching anyone in surprise. This dish featured in the previous post as a companion to the awesome tenderloin. Here I used a vegetable that was the anti-hero of my childhood. My mom and grandma used to prepare cauliflower by boiling it for long period of time till it became a mushy white disgusting thing. Needless to mention the unbearable smell of the boiled cauliflower. Yaicks! Later they made it with tomato. The typical greek tomato sauce dressed dishes. Green beans, eggplant, okra, zucchini, etc. Although much better it was just a different vegetable in the sauce.
The years went by and I encountered the old foe in the form of raw consumed vegetable. The one that is served along side beer. By then my taste buds, had matured, and the the crispiness of the vegetable combined with the powdery feel was much more interesting than the simple boiled cauliflower. Still however, I was just looking the same old foe. The same nemesis of my childhood. And then Ece opened a new world for me. A new idea for the most hated childhood vegetable. You can read all about it and the history of that vegetable here.
Here I am going to take about a new twist. An idea I had after I watched a TV show where they made pureé with Brussels sprouts. The idea is to make them more apetizing for the kids. So I said why not the cauliflower. So here we meet again my old nemesis.
so here are the simple ingredients. And you don ‘t have to stick with these. You can play around. I did that too!
- One whole Cauliflower
- 1 onion
- 2-3 cloves of garlic
- 1 medium potato
- 1 green pepper
- 2 jalapeño
- 1cup of milk (or buttermilk)
- Turmeric
- Salt and pepper
All the ingredients accept the cauliflower and the potato are flavor enhancers. You can use anything you like. Stick with the vegetable world though. Cheeses etc will totally cover up the flavor of the cauliflower.
Start by removing the leaves from the bottom of the cauliflower.
Yeah almost like a mashroom.
Cut it in pieces.
Quarter the onion.
Cut the pepper in half and…
Remove the seeds.
Do the same with the jalapeños.
Take the potato and
cut it in half.
Now wrap the cauliflower in aluminum foil and spread the vegetables on the pan. The caulifower will steam in its own juice, while the vegies will roast and char nicely. That ’s why we add the oil. Enhances browning.
Season with salt and pepper. And bake in a 400 F degree oven till they look like…
…this
Keep the cauliflower in the oven till it is fork tender. A little browning at the bottom where it touches the bottom of the pan is ok.
Add everything in a blender with a tsp of turmeric for a bit of color.
Add about a cup of milk or buttermilk.
Blend till it is smooth. As smooth as it gets.
I liked it on some real corn tortilla with some freshly ground pepper and some sour cream to wake up the taste buds.
