serves 4
I’m declaring 2022 as “the year I discovered and liked cauliflower“.
We’re only 2 weeks into 2022 and I’ve eaten more cauliflower in the past two weeks than in an entire lifetime! I’ve discovered that it can actually be quite good, if prepared well and not just boiled in a pot like my parent did…and smell up the entire house. 2022 started off sharing caramelized cauliflower at Chloe’s in the Navy Yard in Washington DC…delish. It was prepared with tahini, lemon, garlic, mint, parsley, and toasted pine nuts. I have not tried to recreate Chloe’s preparation yet, but plan to. Next was the tempura cauliflower at Clydes of Georgetown, also in Washington DC. Prepared in honey sriracha, sesame seeds, scallions, and buttermilk goddess dressing, it pretty much tasted like buffalo chicken. Lastly, and where I decided that I gotta try making this myself, was at La Piquette. La Piquette is an amazing French restaurant located in Cathedral Heights in Washington DC. We’ve gotten to know the chef, Francis, really well and he shared his simple and delicious preparation with us.
This recipe is based off what Francis told us the last night we dined there before heading back North. I made it two nights in a row, playing with different broths. The first night I used chicken stock and thought that the chicken flavor was overpowering other flavors. The second night I used vegetable stock and thought it was better; it did not try to steal the show away from the cauliflower, garlic and shallots.
Ingredients
- 3 TBL olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves sliced thin like sliced almond slivers
- 1 shallot sliced into thin rounds ← I got distracted and minced, still good
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 4 cups cauliflower florets
- ¼ cup vegetable broth ← I use Better Than Bouillon Vegetable Base
Instructions
- In a large skillet, that has a lid, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat
- Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant
- Add the shallots and sprinkle with salt and pepper
- Continue cooking until shallots are softened and garlic and shallots are softened and starting to turn golden
- Add cauliflower florets and turn heat up to high
- Stir constantly
- Allow cauliflower to become brown and a little crispy on the edges ← to help speed up the cauliflower softening, I turned the heat down a tad and used a lid to push the heat back down on the cauliflower, lifting the lid every 30+ seconds to stir
- When cauliflower has started to soften a bit, add the vegetable stock, bring to boil and allow to cook until liquid is evaporated ← again, I used a lid to make sure the cauliflower softened up, stirring every 30+ seconds. The garlic and shallot caramelized and created a delicious accompaniment to the cauliflower.
- Remove from heat and serve immediately