What? Cauliflower Cake?

I discovered this while I was catching up on some posts from the Guardian food section one night. I should have been sleeping but it seemed such a shame to let all that peace and quiet and perfectly good reading time go to waste. I wound up reading it and thought I would file it away, by file I mean forget about in my ‘spirited’ daughter addled brain, for supper some day.

Turns out, some day came sooner than I thought. It came in the form of our say-goodbye-to-my-beautiful-bamboo-counterscape dinner rolled into a last-big-gong-show-before-we-leave-all-of-our-friends-for-six-months dinner. It also came because I needed something to sop up the beef and chestnut and the spicy butternut and lentil stew juices.

Because I am trying to empty the cupboards before we go seasonless in CA, and I will be countertopless for the rest of the week, I didn’t want to wind up with any leftovers. I wanted something a little different though and I remembered, miraculously enough, that I had seen this cauliflower cake thingy somewhere. After a mildly frenzied interweb look around, I found it or remembered where it was. 

I was alarmed that it asked for 10 eggs. I needed to make two and I had exactly four eggs in the house. I had decided that this was what we were having for supper though and continued some by-now-not-so-mildly frenzied (Little Daughter was underfoot and Big Daughter’s return from a friend’s house was imminent) interweb search until I found something the contents of my cupboards and fridge could cope with.

I was not skeptical, Big Daughter was when she got wind of what was going on. The recipe struck me as a little bland but I had remedied that, I hoped, with the addition of more cheese than it called for, a lot of grainy mustard and some finely sliced onion.

Turns out, Big Daughter changed her tune. It is pretty delicious. It has a really great texture like a cross between cake and fritatta but the ground almonds keep it from getting gummy.

I used some 2 year old cheddar because let’s face it, cauliflower and cheddar cheese were pretty much made for each other. I used Kozlik’s Double C mustard but any good grainy mustard would be fine.

I doubled the original recipe, which was lucky, because breakfast was ready for the next day. I even cooked bacon to go with it - big brownie points with Big Daughter. She was putty in my hands for all of about forty-two seconds.

Which leads me to what I may do next time, not that this isn’t really delicious as it is. I keep thinking about roasting the cauliflower with caraway seeds and adding sauteed onion to the batter. I also think that some lardons, that’s bacon bits in English, as Croque-Camille forgets in the recipe I started from, would also make it kind of perfectly meal-like.

Cauliflower Cake adapted from Chou-Fleur de Bretagne by Croque-Camille

1 head cauliflower

2 cups grated old cheddar cheese

4 eggs

1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon olive oil (plus some for roasting the cauliflower)

2 tablespoons grainy mustard 

1 cup flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 1/4 cup almond meal

1/2 teaspoon salt (plus a little for roasting the cauliflower)

Freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup milk

Thinly sliced onion rings

Preheat oven to 350º.

Break the cauliflower into florets and put it on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss. Put it in the oven and roast, tossing once or twice, for about twenty minutes or until cauliflower is tender and starting to brown.

Oil two 8-inch round cake tins.

Whisk the eggs, olive oil and mustard together in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, almond meal, salt and some pepper.

Add half the milk to the eggs, then half the flour mixture, half the milk and the remaining flour, thoroughly mixing between each addition.

Fold in the cauliflower and cheese. 

Pour into the baking pans and top with the onion slices.

Bake for 35 minutes.

Remove from oven and cool on a rack for a few minutes. Loosen edges from pan and carefully remove the cake from the pan and serve in wedges.

Grilled Ratatouille

It is that time of year again. The time which some greet with excitement and as a sign of summer abundance. The time which anyone who has a garden or anyone who knows someone who has a garden or anyone who has left their car unlocked or doorstep unguarded at this time of year is all too familiar with. It is zucchini(courgette) time.

People here in Nova Scotia say it is the only time of year people lock their doors here. Guarding against the product of the glut that even one prolific plant can provide. Everyone seems to have about fourteen recipes to deal with the stuff in all its forms - long or round, forest green to speckled pale, almost blue green to bright yellow - yes, I lump summer squash in here too.

Eggplants (aubergines) are starting here as well, shiny and jewel-coloured. So, in combination with the zucchini, it kind of shouts out ratatouille. But, ratatouille? Yawn, yawn, yawn. 

I think ratatouille is great but it isn’t very exciting, is it? I have spent many a month in the south of France looking at various renditions of the stuff on every menu. None of them bad, but few of them jumping up and screaming, ‘Eat me!’ Consequently, my mission was to revitalize the ratatouille concept for, well, for my family, I guess.

The days are still hot here and, as I far as I am concerned, it is never too late for another salad days recipe. This one is great hot or warm or cold. It travels well and is easy to eat with just a fork so ticks the ‘great for a picnic’ box as well. 

It is great on its own, with a hunk of feta and some olives and fresh bread but serves as a worthy side dish to any grilled meat or fish. Stephen and the girls had some grilled chicken with theirs’ and, at least in the girls’ case, the ratatouille disappeared first. I faintly recall Stephen declaring that it ‘wasn’t bad for aubergine’. I felt like I had done my job. 

‘Ratatouille renovated?’ 

‘Check.’  

I used garlic scape pesto in this but a clove of minced garlic would be just fine. The dressing uses the remaining mixture that you brush the vegetables with before grilling. 

I contemplated tomato for this. Had they been ready, as in ripe, I may have tried grilling some with the rest of the vegetables but, they weren’t. I then considered dicing some and adding to all the vegetables after grilling but we were eating this warm the first time around and I had a vision of tomato mush gluing the whole lot together. I did add some to the cold leftovers and it was a really good cooked/fresh contrast. So, if you are going to have this cold or when you re-purpose it, I would throw in a handful of chopped fresh tomatoes. I used some halved cherry tomatoes which I rescued from Poppy, who was about two-thirds of the way through the entire pint. 

I used summer squash here but any zucchini, summer, patty pan, etc. squash would do just fine. I also used some fennel fronds, because I have some growing but these are easily omitted.

Grilled Ratatouille

1 large eggplant (aubergine) sliced lengthwise in 1cm(ish) slices

3 medium summer squash sliced in half lengthwise

6 scallions (spring onions)

1 medium red onion sliced into 1cm rounds

2 red peppers tops, bottoms and seeds removed

Marinade

1/8 cup garlic scape pesto

1/8 cup olive oil

Dressing

1 tablespoon marinade from above

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

1/4 teaspoon salt

Handful of chopped flat leaf parsley and fennel fronds (if you have fennel to hand)

Brush eggplant and zucchini slices with the marinade. Let sit while preparing other vegetables and heating the barbecue.

Grill over medium heat and in batches, if necessary, all of the vegetables until they are nicely marked and just cooked through. None should take more than a couple of minutes on each side. Remove from the barbecue.

Chop all of the grilled vegetables into bite-sized pieces and put in a mixing bowl.

Whisk all ingredients for the dressing together and pour over the vegetables. Toss to combine with the chopped herbs.

Serve warm or cold, with or without feta, on its own or as a side.

Thai (Inspired) Slaw

I find that in the spring I get inspired by Thai flavours. Light and fresh and clean and well, just yummy really. 

At our house, we are also slaw heads. Well, Poppy and I are and we strive to turn Tilly into one and Stephen just eats what is put in front of him for the most part. So, vegetables and salads and slaws reign.

I had some leftover Red Lentil Veggie Burgers and some mango ‘ketchup’ to use up and we had a bunch of stuff that needed eating before we left and it was a beautifully warm spring day out and I really didn’t feel like doing anything inside and this just seemed to jump out of the fridge and cupboards. To boot, I had a very cranky almost four year old and she needed a project. So, I had a helper too.

I spent quite a while in Thailand pre-Poppy and I can be pretty particular about Thai food. But, I have no problem with Thai-inspired as long as it doesn’t try to pass it off as the real thing. So, this is unabashedly Thai-inspired. 

It should have loads of chilli but my main audience for this wasn’t yet four. I wouldn’t mind some sliced right in with the slaw but to make it a little milder, you could blend a little into the dressing. 

It should also have peanuts, not almonds but I was trying to use things up and I did think about going to get some but it was twenty minutes to supper and I wasn’t striving for authentic. 

And the tofu, well, did I mention I was trying to use things up? I wouldn’t normally put smoked tofu in a slaw but it worked here. You could leave it out completely but with it, this slaw becomes pretty much a meal in itself. And, you could use any firm tofu, it doesn’t have to be smoked and would likely be better if it wasn’t.

The dressing emulsifies beautifully with an immersion blender. It would in the jug of a regular blender as well. If you don’t have one, just mince the garlic and ginger. You can mix the ingredients together and strain after a couple of hours if you don’t want the bits in the dressing. You will have more dressing than you need which I don’t think is any hardship because you should find it pretty versatile. It would be pretty good on cold noodles or mixed greens for a quick salad.

This would also be a pretty good accompaniment to just about anything that comes off your barbecue this summer. 

Thai Slaw (serves 6 as a generous side dish)

2 cloves garlic chopped

1inch piece of ginger peeled and chopped

2 tablespoons brown sugar (unless you have palm sugar to hand)

1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce

4 tablespoons rice wine vinegar (use the unseasoned kind if you can)

4 tablespoons grapeseed oil (or another vegetable oil)

1/2 green cabbage finely sliced

1/3 red pepper (that was all I had)julienned

1/3 yellow pepper julienned

1/2 GIANT carrot (see photo, or 1 medium carrot)julienned

150 grams firm tofu (optional)cut into cubes

Handful sliced almonds (or if you have unsalted peanuts, even better)

Handful chopped cilantro/fresh coriander

Put garlic, ginger, brown sugar, fish sauce, vinegar and oil in a bowl, if you have an immersion blender, or in the blender jug and blend until smooth. 

Put all the veggies on a serving plate or bowl.

Gently saute the tofu, if you are using it, until it starts to crisp up on the outside.

Toast the almonds, or peanuts, if they aren’t already. You can do this in the oven, or in a dry pan on the stovetop.

Sprinkle the tofu, almonds and cilantro on top of the veggies.

Dress with half the vinaigrette. Toss and serve.

Veggie Burgers That Work

I love a veggie burger. Granted, I have been known to order it with cheese and bacon before, but it still counts in my book. I have had good ones and bad ones, ones that taste like bad hamburgers, which is wrong, and ones that taste like nothing. I have made them, rarely with a recipe, sometimes successfully, sometimes not so much.

I borrowed The Golden Door Cooks at Home by Dean Rucker with Marah Stets from the book bus. It reminded me of all the things I used to cook in really nice, hot tropical locales. The recipe for Red Lentil Veggie Burgers with Spicy Yam fries and Mango ‘Ketchup’ sang out for two reasons. The first, I really wanted a burger and the second, I decided I would follow the recipe to the letter. Could I do it?

The thought of veggie burgers made me think of a time, not so long ago, when I was somewhere between three and four months pregnant with Tilly. I really needed to have a veggie burger, I have no idea why. We were living in Alaro in Mallorca and there wasn’t a chance we would be getting one there. I decided that Poppy and I would pick Stephen up from work in Palma and, prepare for shameful confession here, we would go to The Hard Rock Cafe where surely, in a land of amazing and fresh and beautiful food, we would be able to get a veggie burger, maybe even with cheese and bacon. Off we went, and what arrived on my plate, I was pleased to see, was not an imitation beef burger. It appeared to be made of lentils and rice and good things. Then I took a bite and realized that no, it was made of sawdust and Elmer’s glue. I didn’t go back to The Hard Rock Cafe after that, I had learned my lesson and I would stick to the local amazing and fresh and beautiful food offered everywhere else.

Or, I would make the veggie burgers myself. It didn’t happen in Alaro. In fact, it only happened a couple of weeks ago, inspired and spurred on by The Golden Door.

These are really tasty. The have a great texture and a little kick from the curry powder. The veggies give a really nice crunch. You could put them in a bun but that would be pretty heavy. The burgers are really nice with the Thai Slaw, not the dandelion salad in the photo which was good but not as good as Thai Slaw which will be up on here soon, and the mango ‘ketchup’ which is really just a quick fruity salsa.

And, I followed the recipe exactly, almost. I didn’t make the fries. I didn’t have any edamame so I substituted frozen limas. I also substituted cremini mushrooms for shitake which, unsurprisingly, I couldn’t find round these here parts. I doubled the recipe because it is a bit heavy on prep. I froze the extra burgers on a parchment lined baking sheet and then, when they were fully frozen, transferred them to a freezer bag figuring that they would cook well from frozen, which they do. You just need to lengthen the cooking times a bit. The recipe calls for cooking spray which I don’t use so I just used grapeseed oil where it called for that. Other than that, I was so serious about being exact here that I even used measuring cups.

Red Lentil Burgers with Mango ‘Ketchup’ adapted, ever so slightly, from The Golden Door Cooks at Home by Dean Rucker with Marah Stets (makes 8 pretty big burgers)

1/2 cup brown rice and 1 cup water

1 cup red lentils and 2 cups water

1/2 cup finely diced onion (about 1/2 medium)

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 1/2 cups finely chopped broccoli florets and peeled stems (about 5 ounces, if you care to weigh it out)

1 cup finely chopped carrots (about 2 medium)

2 cups peeled, grated and squeezed to remove excess liquid potatoes

1 cup finely chopped cremini mushrooms 

1/2 cup frozen limas, thawed and finely chopped (about 2 ounces)

1 1/2 teaspoons yellow curry powder

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup cornmeal

Grapeseed oil (or any vegetable oil you use)

Cook and cool the rice and lentils, separately. Cool and transfer to a large mixing bowl.

Saute the onion and garlic with a teaspoon of oil until translucent. Add the vegetables and cook, stirring occasionally, until they are cooked but still crunchy, about 5 minutes. Stir in curry powder and season.

Preheat the oven to 400º.

Mix the vegetables into the rice and lentils.

Using about 1/2 cup of the mixture for each, form into eight patties.

Put the cornmeal on a plate and dredge each of the patties in the cornmeal.

Put 1/2 tablespoon of oil on a skillet and sear the burgers for about 2-3 minutes on each side over medium heat until golden. Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet and finish in the oven for about 12 minutes.

Serve with Mango ‘ Ketchup.’

Here is where I really have screwed this up. I can not find the notes I made on the ‘ketchup’. I thought I had brought them with me but, unless they have become a piece of  almost four year old’s artwork in the last week, I have lost my mind. I can remember what I put in, because I strayed from the recipe here, but not exactly. So, I am going to tell you roughly, and you can play with it if you want to. Really, it is easy.

Take some mango, I used 2 cups of previously frozen and thawed chunks, if I recall. You can use fresh if you have it. Whizz some of it up in the food processor and chop the rest. Add some finely diced red onion or shallot, some finely diced red pepper or chilli, if your main audience isn't an almost four year old, some lime juice, some salt and pepper and some chopped fresh coriander/cilantro. And, that, I think, is about it.