There was a head of cauliflower sitting in the vegetable box in the refrigerator. I didn’t feel like steaming it, or making a gratin, but wanted a dish that was flavorful yet on the lighter side. Jeremy F. had mused about cooking this veg with anchovies and garlic, and I thought, “Hey, that does sound good!” And it turned out that it did. 😀
In this recipe I ended up braising the cauliflower: first lightly frying it in olive oil, then cooking it in wine. I didn’t need to add more salt because the anchovies (packed in salt and oil) were already quite salty.
Ingredients
- 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 head of cauliflower, about 1 1/2 to 2 pounds, cut into 3/4 to 1 inch florets
- 4 cloves of black garlic, minced or smushed
- 2 to 4 filets of anchovies, minced or smushed
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 2 tablespoons water
- (optional) pepper, to taste
Method
- In a Dutch oven or large pot, heat the olive oil until shimmering. Stir in the cauliflower until the florets are coated in the oil.
- Cover and cook on medium high for about 9 to 11 minutes. Stir the cauliflower every 2 to 3 minutes, so that the vegetable doesn’t burn, but still allows a nice fond to develop.
- Add the black garlic and anchovies, and stir for about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add the wine and water, bring the liquid to a boil. Cover and cook until tender, about 7 to 9 minutes. There shouldn’t be much liquid left by the end; if the cauliflower cook more quickly than expected, remove the lid to boil off any excess to avoid mushiness.
- Add some freshly ground pepper, if you want. Serve as a side, which I did with some broiled fish and rice. Alternatively, serve over pasta — in which case if there’s excess liquid, don’t boil it off, just add it to the pasta, or add pasta water and/or a bit of cream if the water boiled off already.
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