Cauliflower Couscous

Cauliflower gets a bad rap. It really isn’t fair. It’s mild, succulent, and easy to prepare, yet I know far too many people who won’t consider eating it without first drowning it beyond recognition in an unholy sauce of Velveeta cheese. Don’t get me wrong here, I love cheese, but sometimes your vegetables deserve better.

Enter cauliflower couscous. During Passover, it takes the place of grains. The rest of the time, it’s simply a favorite accompaniment to salmon or a cheese plate or anything made of lamb.

I saw this recipe in a cookbook called the Breakaway Cook and for some reason failed to buy it. I probably changed the method drastically, and added greens because everything is better with greens. Add a good dose of citrus and a touch of olive oil and you’re good to go.

Ingredients

1 head of cauliflower

1/3 to 1/2 lb collard green chiffonade

1/4 cup yuzu, lime, or lemon juice (yuzu juice can be hard to find, but more than worth keeping an eye out for.)

2-3 T olive oil

salt, to taste

Directions

Chop the cauliflower into florets.

Place the florets in the bowl of a food processor and pulse in short bursts until the pieces mostly range between the size of peas and grains of rice. I find this easier in small batches, a handful at a time, but if your food processor is larger and less prone to let pieces of food surf above the blades than mine, feel free to do it all at once.

Heat a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat and add the cauliflower. Drizzle the olive oil over it and sauté for about 10 minutes.

Turn the heat down to medium-low and add the yuzu (or lemon or lime) juice. Pop a lid over the pan and steam for another 10 minutes.

Crank the heat back up to high and add the greens. Cook, stirring constantly, another 3-5 minutes.

Add salt to taste and serve piping hot. This is an amazing accompaniment to honey-braised lamb shanks, but just as good as a main dish with a plate of olives and bocconcini. It’s simple enough to be worth making even when cooking for one, and good enough to bring out for company. It’s especially useful if, like most of us, you’re used to providing some kind of grain with dinner but are feeding someone who can’t eat gluten.

You could easily mix it up to complement a different palate–make it with peas and turmeric instead of greens with Indian food, or add some diced eggplant and apricots for a  Middle Eastern meal. Use orange juice and sliced olives one time, red wine and figs the next. I’ll always come back to greens, though; there’s nothing quite like greens in almost any savory dish you can think of.

Roast Cauliflower with Tahini

Sometimes I get into a vegetable rut of sorts. It’s not that I don’t eat veggies–I have steamed broccoli with my dinner about five nights a week–but sometimes I want something a little different. Of course, you don’t want to spend a lot of time on a side dish when you’ve also got a main course going. Or maybe I’m just lazy. But sometimes you’re braising or smoking your main course, which isn’t really any work at all and the thought occurs to you: tahini would really go well with these lamb shanks.

The good news is, roasting vegetables in tahini is really easy. The result is a soft and very moist vegetable coated in a slightly crunchy bitter sesame crust. A bit of extra lemon juice over the top makes these smoky bites absolutely to die for. Sure, they take about half an hour to make, but you get to ignore them for most of that time, and it is very much worth the wait.

Ingredients

1 head cauliflower (I used half a head of cauliflower and half a head of broccoli. The cauliflower was much tastier in this dish.)

2 T tahini

2 T olive oil

juice of 1/2 of a lemon (about 1 1/2 T)

2 t kosher salt

sesame seeds, for garnish

Directions 

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Cut the cauliflower and broccoli into bite-sized florets and toss into a bowl.

Add the tahini.

Then add the olive oil.

And squeeze that lemon in. Then sprinkle with salt.

Toss all the ingredients to coat evenly and pour the vegetables into an 8×8 inch pan.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. Serve with a squeeze of lemon juice and a sprinkling of sesame seeds.

These are amazing with honey braised lamb. I’ve also tried them as a side to simple pita with tzatziki. One thing about pareve sides is that I can eat them with anything I want. But honestly? They’re a perfectly good snack on their own, and completely guilt-free when you’re munchy after an hour at the gym.