Dana Treat – Treat Yourself

Dinner for Karen

Posted November 8, 2010


Fregola with Minted Cauliflower
Adapted from Food & Wine
Serves 4

In addition to needing more flavor, I thought this dish needed more purée.  The original recipe instructs you to only use half a cauliflower and to grate one of those halves and purée the other.  I think you should purée the ¾ of the cauliflower that you aren’t grating and if you have any left over, you can use it as a side with another dish.

1 head cauliflower
¼ cup plus 2 tbsp. heavy cream
½ cup plus 2 tbsp. water
3 tbsp. unsalted butter
Kosher salt
½ pint grape tomatoes
Olive oil
1½ cups fregola
¾ cup vegetable broth
1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
¼ cup mint leaves, torn

Preheat oven to 350ºF.  Cut the cauliflower in half and cut one of the halves in half again.  Grate one of the quarters on the large holes of a box grater, stopping when you reach the stems; you should have about 1 cup of grated cauliflower that resembles coarsely grated Parmesan.  Finely chop the stems and add to the grated.  Set aside.

Roughly chop the rest of the cauliflower.  Put in in a saucepan along with the cream, water and 2 tablespoons of the butter.  Season with salt.  Cover and cook over moderate heat until the cauliflower is tender and the liquid nearly evaporated, 8 minutes.  If the liquid is gone before the cauliflower is tender, add a bit more water.  Scrape the mixture into a food processor and purée until very smooth.  Wipe out the saucepan and return the purée to it; keep warm.

In a small baking dish or on a small baking sheet, drizzle the tomatoes lightly with olive oil.  Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and mix well.  Roast for about 10 minutes, just until the skins start to burst.

Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil.  Add the fregola and cook until al dente.  Drain the fregola and return it to the pot.  Add the vegetable broth, crushed red pepper, and the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and cook over low heat, stirring until the sauce is creamy, adding more liquid if necessary.  Stir in the grated cauliflower and cook until just tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the mint.

Spoon the cauliflower purée onto plates.  Top with the fregola and roasted tomatoes and serve immediately.


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