Cauliflower Season

When I was in college my friend John told me he disliked all white food “Including cauliflower?” I asked dumbfounded, who doesn’t like cauliflower? As a kid my family ate cauliflower two ways, raw with Durkee’s Famous Sauce and steamed whole and covered with cheddar cheese. I wasn’t then, nor am I now a fan of raw cauliflower, and I don’t eat it covered in cheese, but I still love it. Because my daughter isn’t a fan I have tried numerous ways of preparing it to try to win her over, with mixed results. So far she never loves it, but I am tenacious.

One of my favorite comfort foods is a mash made with carrots, potatoes and cauliflower all cooked together and then mashed into a nursery worthy mush that I salt and butter to a nearly obscene level. This alone has been my dinner on many cold winter nights, when there is no one around to judge me. Cauliflower is versatile enough to be good in almost any form. I’ve had it in a fritto misto, as well as baked in a casserole with mornay sauce and gratinéed, and I love it with saffron. It’s also good in soups to add flavor, as well as texture.

A few weeks ago when I was doing my audition at Alla Spina, one of my tasks was to remove the florets from a case of cauliflower to be roasted and used in what sounded like an amazing salad. I haven’t tried the salad, but as I stood there pulling each floret, or rather pushing each one off with my thumbs, I knew this was going to be my new go-to way to start every future cauliflower dish. When you do this, don’t worry about the waste, we’re going to use the rest of the cauliflower for a soup that is good hot or cold.

You can find cauliflower all year, but Fall is when it is season and I’m optimistic that I’ll see some at the farmers’ markets soon. The last few weeks I didn’t see any, so I bought mine at the supermarket. It’s a nice big head with no brown spots, and tight, compact florets. To remove the thick core I turn it stem side up and with a chef’s knife I cut all around it pulling out the core. To get the tiny, popcorn-like florets you’ll want to use your thumbs to pop them off, this is much easier, and give you a more rustic looking piece than using a paring knife.

Once you’ve broken up all your florets, put them in a bowl and toss tem with some olive oil (I used 1/4 cup) salt, pepper and whatever other spices you’d like. Crushed red pepper would be good and add some heat, I added some onion powder which added a little sweetness. I roasted them in a 400°F oven for ten minutes, turned the florets over and roasted for another ten minutes until cauliflower is started to brown. I didn’t but it would this would be delicious tossed with some fresh grated parmesan cheese. Eat hot or cold.

For the soup, take the remaining core and stems of the cauliflower and chop into 1-2″ pieces. Chop half an onion, peel and chop one potato, I used a red skin potato because that’s what I had, it weighed about 3/4 of a pound. Sauté the onion in some olive oil, when the onion is getting fragrant, but not browned, add cauliflower, potato, and 4 cups of chicken or vegetable stock. Cook for 30 minutes until potato and cauliflower are tender. Add 1-2 teaspoons of dried dill, and puree.