Simple Cauliflower with Cumin

Oh, Monday...and not just any Monday in England, but a Monday in late May, 25 degrees, strong sun and my cat asleep in a patch of shady dirt between rows of lettuce in the garden. We don't get days like this very often 'round these parts. I figured the chances of me getting anything practical done today were slim to none, so I decided to just cook.

I had a bag of nettles in my fridge - yes, that's right, stinging nettle tops. They're a really delicious green and are so good for you. Nettles are starting to enter the mainstream among adventurous foodies, or at least with gardeners, foragers, herbalists and the cooks who love them. Nettle soup motivates me to get my feet out walking in the woods every spring for an hour or two while I collect several bags and freeze some for use later in the year. So I made stinging nettle & purple broccoli soup to test proportions for a cookbook recipe. Then I experimented with a cupcake idea: my favourite kind of experiment. It came out underdone but still tasted delicious. I picked some spinach and red lettuce from the garden and tried it with a citrus vinaigrette that I'd tested last week, topped with goat's cheese and toasted, salted pumpkin seeds. Then I pulled out the head of cauliflower that I'd neglected since acquiring it last Wednesday and did something with that, too.



I've never thought much of cauliflower. In fact, I rarely eat it unless it stealthily finds its way onto my plate by way of restaurant or dinner at someone else's home. I mean, who has time for a white vegetable? Especially one that looks like broccoli but seems to have even less flavour. But then, a few years ago, I decided to try choosing my produce based on which items seemed to have the most 'life' in them. In other words, who looked the freshest, most flavourful and full of goodness? And the cauliflower at La Montanita in Albuquerque kept winning hands down. So I rolled my eyes, gave a sigh and grabbed a head of the stuff.

What I do like about cauliflower is that it makes a great 'comfort food' vegetable: it often gets baked with bread crumbs, stock and cheese; or simmered in an Indian curry with plenty of ghee and spices. This method popped into my head as I stood at my stove with this head of cauliflower, staring at it and not knowing what to do next. But I was going through a 'butter solves everything' and 'cumin tastes good with anything' phase, and so I improvised and this was the result. I think it's quite tasty, and it always convinces me to eat a bowl of cauliflower, which used to only happen as often as a hot day in the English midlands.



Simple Cauliflower

1 medium/large head of cauliflower
3 - 4 tablespoons butter or ghee
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon cumin powder
a few tablespoons water or stock
3 tablespoons whole wheat flour
Parmesan or Grana Padano cheese to top

Wash the cauliflower and shake off excess water. Trim off most of the stalk but not all - basically, I use the florets and their stems and maybe an inch of the stalk. Chop the cauliflower into small pieces: it should be chopped small enough to look crumbly.

Melt the butter or ghee in a medium skillet. Add the cauliflower and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the cumin powder on and stir well. Cook for five minutes or so, stirring often to cook evenly. If the pan gets too dry, splash on a couple of tablespoons of water. Cook until the cauliflower is done to your liking: softer or a bit crunchy. With the heat on medium/low, sprinkle the whole wheat flour over all and mix well. Continue to stir, making sure to scrape the drying flour from the bottom of the pan as it starts to stick. You want the flour to brown and stick to the cauliflower, creating a toasty flavour. When it's starting to brown, take the cauliflower off the heat and divide into bowls. Top with grated cheese and serve hot as a side dish.