Jamie Oliver is my new best friend.
Of course he doesn’t know it.
But he has gotten me out of the cooking doldrums.
Check out his website. Just reading his recipes makes me smile.
Not to mention eating his food.
The concept is brilliant.
Make a puttanesca sauce, bury the whole cauliflower in it and drizzle with olive oil.
“Bake” it on top of the stove.
People, this is face down in your plate good.
And easy.
“Smashing’ as he would say.
1 medium sweet red onion, peeled, cut in half and sliced thinly
1 medium sweet yellow onion, peeled, cut in half and sliced thinly
1 large spoonful garlic confit, smashed
1 large cauliflower, trimmed, cut off the stalk and chop it (leave the cauliflower whole)
½ cup Kalamata olives, pitted
4 anchovy fillets, chopped
A handful of fresh Italian parsley…chop the leaves and finely chop the stalks
½ cup red wine
1 large can San Marzano tomatoes
A good splash balsamic vinegar
You’re going to need a pan that can hold a large head of cauliflower in the middle and the puttanesca sauce around it.
Jamie says’ If you’ve got the size of your pan right, half of the cauliflower will be in the sauce, half above it.” So take that into consideration when you pick out the Dutch oven you use.
Heat the pan over medium high heat.
Add a couple of good swirls extra virgin olive oil. When the oil is wavy, add the chopped onions, garlic confit, the chopped cauliflower stalk and let cook about 10 minutes until soft. Add Kalamatas, anchovies and tomatoes with their juice. Add the red wine and a splash of balsamic vinegar. Stir and bring this mix to a boil.
Put the whole cauliflower in the pan.
Add a couple of good swirls extra virgin olive oil over the top of the cauliflower. Cover and cook for about 45-50 minutes on medium low heat until done.
This is a very cool way to serve cauliflower as a main dish…with a bit of Parmesan -Reggiana and chopped fresh Italian parsley on top. As a side dish it totally rocks with grilled chicken and a crispy Romaine salad topped with a champagne vinaigrette.
Serves 3 generously.
2 comments:
I have three Jamie Oliver cookbooks, and I don't believe that I've cooked from any of them. For some reason, nothing grabs me.
Mary, that sounds de-lish! Thanks for sharing. I've always been a fan of Jamie Oliver. I love watching him cook.
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