Tuesday, January 28, 2014

sauteed cauliflower with caramelized shallots and turmeric



I love vegetables. Love. Love. Love. 

I wish my family embraced them like I do. I think I'll keep serving them dishes like the one featured in this post, or this one here, or here, or here, and maybe they'll soon fall madly in love like me. It's worth a shot, right!?

It wasn't until I discovered roasting and sauteing . . . that vegetables went from ordinary (and eating them for 'good nutrition' value only) to extraordinary (eating them because they're delicious, with the 'good nutrition' factor being an after thought).   




Let's talk cauliflower . . .

Cauliflower is a blank canvas just waiting to be introduced to flavors that it can marry, so I thought I would experiment with it . . . and came up with a simple and delicious dish adding shallots, turmeric, and fresh herbs.

Turmeric is known to be spicy (like ginger, spicy), so I added shallots to this recipe to balance the flavors. The two create a nice balance of spicy (turmeric) and sweet (caramelized shallots) . . . and the fresh herbs brighten the whole dish.  The cauliflower shows to be the perfect base for this pairing, as it turns a bright yellow as the turmeric heats in the pan.

This "side" dish can stand alone, or be served alongside a meat, like chicken. I think it would even taste wonderful tossed with whole wheat couscous.

Anyway you serve it . . . I hope you enjoy!




Ingredients
1 head of cauliflower, sliced 
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2-3 shallots, finely chopped
Kosher salt
freshly cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 Tablespoons fresh Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped


If you have this Olive Oil, then I highly recommend using it.
It gives this dish a mild garlic flavor. Yum!
If you don't have this olive oil, and like garlic, then add 1 minced garlic clove 
in the last 2 minutes of sauteing this dish.



Preparation
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.
Blanch the cauliflower in salted boiling water until crisp but tender, 2 to 3 minutes. 
The salt will impart flavor as well as help keep the cauliflower crisp. Immediately drain and run cold water over the cauliflower or plunge into an ice bath to cool and stop the cooking process, then remove and gently dry.
Place a large saute pan over medium heat and melt the butter with the olive oil. Add the shallots, sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook until starting to brown, stirring occasionally, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the drained cauliflower with the shallots and add salt and pepper to taste. 
Sprinkle turmeric over the cauliflower, gently stir to coat.
The cauliflower will turn a stunning bright yellow as you heat the turmeric.
Cook to heat the cauliflower completely through, 2 to 3 minutes, or until cauliflower florets have slightly caramelized.
Remove from the heat and season with additional salt and pepper, if needed. 
Toss with the chopped fresh Italian flat leaf parsley and transfer to a serving dish.










LET'S STAY in touch!







13 comments:

  1. This looks like a delicious recipe! I just bought cauliflower and I think I will be making it this way for dinner tomorrow! I found this on Making Monday link party and I am pinning it :-)
    Cathy
    www.threekidsandafish.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Cathy!
      I hope you enjoy this simple recipe as much as I do! It's definitely my new favorite way to eat cauliflower!
      Have a beautiful week,
      Suzanne

      Delete
  2. This looks delish. Just sent your link to my #2 at college who loves veggies as much as you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Katie!
      Thanks so much for stopping by! I'm sure your #2 will enjoy it too :0)
      Have a great week,
      Suzanne

      Delete
  3. Oh I would love this. Thanks for the recipe. Thanks tons for linking to Inspire Me. Hugs, Marty

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Marty!
      I hope you try it! It's such a simple recipe, with great results.
      Happy cooking,
      Suzanne

      Delete
  4. This looks delicious. I love finding new ways to spruce up my veggies. Thanks for sharing at The Makers!
    Corey @ TinySidekick.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. Haha, I just posted about cauliflower with curry. It was almost turmeric because I grabbed the turmeric instead of curry powder but caught myself just in time. Glad to know turmeric would not have been a mistake.

    I commented earlier on your strawberry-vanilla bean jam. I never forget the season - It starts on Mother's Day.

    M~

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love cauliflower & this looks absolutely delicious! Am definitely trying this soon. So glad that I visited this morning from Time Travel!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I read this title to say "cauliflower and caramel". LOL I admit, your ingredients sound much better.
    PJ

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love vegetables also. I recently pinned a roasted cauliflower recipe with blue cheese dressing. Have made it twice and we love it! This sounds like another one we would love. Pinned. Thanks for sharing with SYC.
    hugs,
    Jann

    ReplyDelete
  9. My hubby lives turmeric. We'll be trying this!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Your so right "cauliflower is a blank canvas" and you painted a great recipe. Thanks so much for sharing it on foodie friday.

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...