Orecchiette with Cauliflower, Anchovies, and Pistachios

This recipe comes together relatively quickly, but the anchovies add tremendous depth of flavor to the sauce. The original recipe calls for 1 head of cauliflower for a pound of pasta, but I found myself wanting more cauliflower, so I've adjusted the recipe accordingly below. Note that below is approximately a half recipe, I'd estimate it serves 4.

One year ago: Numbing-and-hot Chicken
Two years ago: Cabbage with Coconut Milk
Three years ago: West African Peanut Soup
Four years ago: Mango and Avocado Salad

Orecchiette with Cauliflower, Anchovies, and Pistachios (adapted from Stir: Mixing It Up in the Italian Tradition)

Ingredients
1/4 cup shelled unsalted pistachios
4 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 medium head cauliflower, cut into small pieces
2 oil-packed anchovies, drained, rinsed, and finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 cup chicken broth
8 ounces orecchiette
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp grated Parmigiano
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1. Heat oven to 350F. Spread pistachios on small baking sheet and bake until lightly toasted, 5 minutes. Once cool, coarsely chop.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook orecchiette until al dente.
3. Meanwhile, in a large, deep skillet, melt butter over medium heat until it smells nutty and is golden brown.
4. Add cauliflower and cook, stirring for a minute or two.
5. Add anchovies and garlic and cook until anchovies dissolve in butter.
6. Add chicken broth and cook until cauliflower is tender, 5 minutes.
7. Add drained cooked orecchiette, parsley, Parmesan, and red pepper flakes to cauliflower. Stir to combine.
8. Serve topped with toasted pistachios and more red pepper flakes if desired.

Cumin Seed Roasted Cauliflower with Salted Yogurt, Mint, and Pomegranate Seeds

I've been meaning to make this recipe for a very long time, but somehow never gotten around to it. Finally, an overabundance of pomegranates gave me the perfect reason to stop putting this off. I topped this with a sparing amount of yogurt, just enough of an accent to not overpower. The addition of mint and pomegranates gives a nice contrast to delicious roasted cauliflower.

One year ago: Chicken Breasts Diable
Two years ago: Pork and Tomatillo Stew
Three years ago: Black Bean Pumpkin Soup
Four years ago: Creamy Carrot Soup

Cumin Seed Roasted Cauliflower with Salted Yogurt, Mint, and Pomegranate Seeds (from Cook This Now)

Ingredients
1 large head cauliflower, cut into bite-size florets
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp whole cumin seeds
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
plain yogurt
chopped fresh mint
pomegranate seeds

1. Preheat oven to 425F. Toss cauliflower with oil, cumin seeds, salt, and pepper. Spread on baking sheet.
2. Roast until cauliflower is tender and edges are toasty, 20 - 30 minutes.
3. Whisk a pinch of salt into yogurt. Dollop yogurt on top of cauliflower. Top with mint and pomegranate seeds.

Cauliflower with Tahini

The original recipe for this calls for deep-frying the cauliflower, but I opted to roast instead to make it a little healthier and less likely for me to splatter oil. The tahini sauce for the cauliflower is fantastic, but I'm a sucker for anything with tahini and adding pomegranate molasses to the mix made it that much better.

One year ago: Spicy Coriander Salad
Two years ago: Lemon Souffle Pancakes
Three years ago: Sun-dried Tomatoes, Spinach, Feta, and Pine Nut Pasta

Cauliflower with Tahini (adapted from Jerusalem)

Ingredients
2 tbsp sunflower oil
2 medium heads cauliflower (1kg), divided into florets
8 green onions, divided into 3 long segments
180g light tahini paste
2 garlic cloves, minced
15g chopped parsley
15g chopped mint
150g Greek yogurt
1/4 cup lemon juice, plus zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp pomegranate molasses
3/4 cup water

1. Preheat oven to 450F. Place cauliflower in roasting pan and drizzle with oil. Roast for 30 minutes or until tender. Allow the cauliflower to cool slightly.
2. Pour tahini paste into a large mixing bowl and add garlic, chopped herbs, yogurt, lemon juice, zest, pomegranate molasses, and salt and pepper. Stir with wooden spoon and add water to thin to a honey-like consistency.
3. Add cauliflower and green onions to tahini and stir well. Serve.

Cauliflower Gratin

I know I just made something similar to this, but I couldn't resist the purple cauliflower at the Val-Mont. I wanted to do something cheesy with it, but I couldn't bring myself to repeat the recipe, so consider the other version more refined ... and this more of a macaroni and cheese, except with cauliflower!

Cauliflower Gratin (from Smitten Kitchen, originally Ina Garten)

Ingredients
1 (3-pound) head cauliflower, cut into large florets
Kosher salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups hot milk (feel free to cheat and microwave)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
3/4 cup freshly grated Gruyere, divided
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Cook the cauliflower florets in a large pot of boiling salted water for 5 to 6 minutes, until tender but still firm. Drain.
3. Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add the flour, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes.
4. Pour the hot milk into the butter-flour mixture and stir until it comes to a boil. Boil, whisking constantly, for 1 minute, or until thickened (much longer than one minute ... or at least mine took a while to get there and I thought the one minute was misleading).
5. Off the heat, add 1 teaspoon of salt, the pepper, nutmeg, 1/2 cup of the Gruyere, and the Parmesan.
6. Pour 1/3 of the sauce on the bottom of an 8 by 11 by 2-inch baking dish.
7. Place the drained cauliflower on top and then spread the rest of the sauce evenly on top.
8. Combine the bread crumbs with the remaining 1/4 cup of Gruyere and sprinkle on top.
9. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and drizzle over the gratin. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
10. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the top is browned. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Cauliflower, Chickpeas, and Tomato Couscous

The original recipe is less than inspiring.  I think it lacks flavour and just looks slightly bland.  I wasn't planning on posting it, but at the last minute as I was packing for lunch with leftovers, I added some arugula to the mix.  With some greens in it and a night of marinating, it's worthy of a post.  If you don't have arugula, I think spinach would also work well.  The other keys to this recipe for me were the roasted tomatoes and feta.  Sadly, I originally made the recipe using only the grape tomatoes I had on hand that hadn't gone bad yet.  Tonight I'm correcting that by adding in some roasted cherry tomatoes!  I threw in some chickpeas because they'd been soaking in the fridge and I didn't want them to go bad.  Couscous just seemed like a natural base to the recipe.

Cauliflower, Chickpeas and Tomato Couscous (loosely adapted from Steamy Kitchen)

Ingredients

1 tablespoon tomato paste (I would probably add more when making it again)
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 1/2 cups water
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (plus extra for the tomatoes)
1 medium head cauliflower, broken into florets and dried very well
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
large pinch ground cinnamon
1/2 large onion, thinly sliced (I used a small red onion)
2 dried bay leaves
2 cinnamon sticks (I skipped on this since I didn't have any on hand)
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 cup couscous, cooked according to package directions
1 cup cooked chickpeas or 1 can, drained
cherry tomatoes
feta cheeese
a few handfuls of arugula

1. Preheat oven to 350F.  Cut cherry tomatoes in half.  Place on a baking dish face up.  Drizzle with a little olive oil.  Sprinkle on salt, pepper, and Italian seasonings if wanted.  Bake in oven for 45 minutes or until shriveled up.  If you're using dried chickpeas, cook them now as well!
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the tomato paste, mustard, water and vinegar. Set aside.
3. In a large heavy pot over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil until very hot. Add the cauliflower florets and the onion. Season with salt and pepper and dust with cinnamon. Toss and saute until the onions are nicely golden and softened, about 4 minutes.
4. Stir in the tomato paste mixture and add the cinnamon sticks, bay leaves and thyme. Partially cover, turn the heat to medium-low and cook until the cauliflower is tender, about 10-15 minutes, depending on how small you cut your florets.
5. While the cauliflower is cooking, cook the couscous according to the package directions.
6. When the cauliflower is cooked, add in the drained chickpeas and simmer for a few minutes.  Remove from heat.  Mix in arugula and roasted tomatoes.
7. Serve cauliflower mixture on a bed of couscous and top with crumbled feta cheese to taste.