Recipes

The Resurgence of the Cauliflower

Hail the humble cauliflower!  It’s turning up everywhere – from slow roasted cauliflower at Chelsea’s Cookshop to tahini and date-paste drizzled cauliflower in Bon Appetit to curry-scented cauliflower soup at my place on Sunday evening. Tonight, I’m making cauliflower sauteed with chives, lemon zest and garlic.

I love to cook with cauliflower. It eagerly soaks up the flavors it’s mixed with. It takes on a sweet nutty flavor when combined with caramelized onions; an Indian zing when tossed in turmeric and cumin; and a rich honeyed flavor when sauteed with butter, nutmeg and shallots. It’s also a great substitute for mashed potatoes when you’re limiting your carbohydrate intake.

Cauliflower is a nutritional powerhouse. Its white coloring is loaded with glucosinolates, a phytonutrient that up-regulates your detoxification capacity and helps to balance sex hormone levels (ie good for post-booze weekends, decreasing PMS and increasing your libido).

It also contains 12 grams of fiber for every 100 calories.  Oatmeal, on the other hand, gives you 2 grams of fiber for the same number of calories. But that’s another story…

Photo Credit: 101cookbooks.com

Ingredients

  • 1/2 head cauliflower (chopped into florets – no larger than a grape)
  • 1 cup of water
  • 2 tbl EVOO
  • sea salt
  • 1/2 cup of green beans, chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 2 tbl sunflower seeds
  • 1 small bunch of chives, chopped
  • zest of one meyer lemon

Instructions

Add water to large skillet. Once boiled, add cauliflower and place lid to steam cauliflower. Cook for 5 minutes. Drain water. Remove cauliflower from pan and put aside. Heat the olive oil in the skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add back the cauliflower and stir until the florets are coated. Add the beans. Continue to saute until the pieces are deeply golden. In the last 30 seconds stir in the garlic and the sunflower seeds. Remove from heat and stir in the chives & lemon zest and serve immediately.