Monday, April 13, 2009

Sauteed Cauliflower with Tomatoes and Basil

Cauliflower is not a vegetable that I eat very often. Not because I have anything against it; it's just not the first produce that comes to mind when I'm deciding what to make with dinner (maybe because it's not green or orange). But I was browsing around a nearby organic/specialty grocery here the other day and saw some inspiring heads of cauliflower (hm, I bet that's a phrase you've never encountered before), so I took one home and cooked it up with some garlic, basil, and tomatoes. The sauteed cauliflower had a nice chewy nutty thing going on, and was filling enough to serve as a light dinner all by itself. Well, with some cheesecake for dessert :)

Ingredients
1 head of cauliflower
olive oil
a 14.5 oz. can of diced tomatoes
dried basil (because that's what I had, though I'd like to try this again with fresh basil)
3 or 4 cloves garlic, minced or put through a press

To Make
1. Prepare cauliflower florets: Remove leaves from head, remove stem as much as possible. Cut off individual florets, then cut those in half or even quarters to make uniformly-sized pieces of a little over 1 inch square (for quick and even cooking)
2. Heat a couple tablespoons of oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, until oil shimmers.
3. Add florets, and cook till they start to brown (about 7 minutes).
4. Clear a little space in the center of the pan, and add a bit more oil and the garlic. Cook the garlic for about a minute, then mix the garlic/oil into the cauliflower.
5. Add tomatoes and several shakes of basil, to taste. Can add a little salt and pepper too, though I didn't. Simmer for a few minutes, until cauliflower is chewy, not mushy.

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