Cauliflower 1

To most people, cauliflower is decidedly boring. It’s not sexy compared to say, tomatoes or corn. I seriously doubt that it springs to mind when you ask someone what his or her favorite vegetable is.

“Cheese” cauliflower — By the way, this picture hasn’t been photoshopped. That’s the way it really looks, hence the name cheese cauliflower.

Roasting cauliflower changes its flavor to something approaching French fries. It’s an easy way to persuade someone to eat a vegetable that he or she might not normally consume. Once you cook it this way, you’ll be sorry you hadn’t bought more than one head. It’s pretty amazing.

One head cauliflower
4 T. extra-virgin olive oil
pinch of kosher salt

Preheat oven to 375 F. Break apart cauliflower. The smaller the florets, the better. You want the florets to be of similarly uniform size, so that the cauliflower cooks evenly. Drizzle olive oil over cauliflower; sprinkle with salt. Toss to coat. Roast for 45 minutes or until cauliflower has caramelized and turns golden brown. Let cool slightly, then serve immediately.

Discussion on eGullet can be found here.

Cheese cauliflower with heirloom tomatoes and beets
Here, I’ve paired roasted cauliflower with chopped heirloom tomatoes and roasted beets, along with black mustard seeds, sea salt, olive oil and chopped parsley.

Lumps

Ricotta gnocchi with golden beets, summer squash and garlic

According to Wikipedia, the word gnocchi means “lumps”, and may derive from nocchio (a knot in the wood), or from nocca (knuckle). It has been a traditional Italian pasta type of probably Middle Eastern origin since Roman times. It was introduced by the Roman Legions during the enormous expansion of the empire into the countries of the European continent. In the past 2000 years each country developed its own specific type of small dumplings, with the ancient gnocchi as their common ancestor. In Roman times, gnocchi were made from a semolina porridge-like dough mixed with eggs, and are still found in similar forms today, particularly in Sardinia (where they do not contain egg, however, and are known as malloreddus). One variety, gnocchi di pane (literally bread noodles), is made from bread crumbs and is popular in Friuli and Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. Another variety from Trentino-Alto Adige/Sudtirol is spinach gnocchi, called strangolapreti. This translates to “choke the priest.” The use of potato is a relatively recent innovation, occurring after the introduction of the potato to Europe in the 16th century.

Most people are familiar with potato gnocchi (which seem to be the most ubiquitous). However, ricotta gnocchi have been in vogue for quite a while. Ditto for chestnut gnocchi, made from chestnut flour.

Recipe and demo after the jump.

Saturation Point

We’ve been having so much rain lately, it’s starting to make me think I’m living in Seattle. Hmph.

Radishes — Serve these thinly sliced, with bread, butter and a little salt. Heaven in three bites. Also good roasted with some olive oil, chopped mint, salt and pepper.

Monkfish 1

One of the items from this weekend’s Greenmarket haul was 1 1/2 lbs. monkfish tail. Tomorrow (Monday) night’s dinner will use it in a different preparation. Or I could just make congee and call it a day.

Baked monkfish with Mediterranean citrus marinade
Sucrine salad with roasted white beets, summer squash and pickled shallots

For the monkfish:

Juice of 1 lemon
2 T. grated lemon zest
1 shallot, minced
1 T. black peppercorns, crushed
1 T. fresh thyme, chopped
kosher salt, to taste
olive oil
monkfish fillet

Combine lemon juice, lemon zest, shallot, peppercorns, thyme and salt. Mix well. Score monkfish fillet on both sides. Pour marinade over monkfish and marinate for at least 3 hours. This step can be made up to one day ahead.

Preheat oven to 375 F. Place monkfish fillet in a glass baking dish and cover with foil. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until monkfish is cooked through. Serve.

Postcards from the Shire

This blog will have its three year anniversary in a little over six weeks so I thought I’d pull some of my favorite food photography in the intervening period. You can browse all of these pictures and many more on my Flickr account on right-hand side of your screen.

Dinner tonight is a surprise. Talk to y’all later.

Fried clam bellies and oysters, tartar sauce (Tides)

Seared hamachi, black radish, celery, Granny Smith apple (Hearth)

Heirloom tomatoes

Roast scallops, grapefruit and asparagus salad (Little Owl)

Gnocchi con sugo di pomodoro

‘Deconstructed’ German potato salad

Chiaogga beets

Seared scallop, parsnip puree, hen of the woods mushrooms, caviar viniagrette (Hearth)

Trio of gelati (Otto)

Asparagus, coconut, black mustard seeds, kokum (Tabla)

Grilled lambchops (Tabla)

Frying hushpuppies (2008 BABBQBP)

Spareribs closeup (2008 BABBQBP)

Pastrami closeup (Katz’s)