Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Lemon Vinaigrette ♥

How to roast a whole head of cauliflower (yes I said a whole head!) in the oven. It comes out all brown and nutty and dramatic looking, easy enough for a weeknight, impressive enough for your mother-in-law. Weight Watchers? All this for just one Weight Watchers point!

So isn't it gorgeous?! There's just something so spectacular about cooking a whole head of cauliflower. I am my mother's daughter after all, she loved to cook a head of cauliflower and top it with cheese sauce. (Who remembers Whole Cauliflower with Homemade Cheese Sauce?!)

But this is even more dramatic looking, thanks to how the florets get all toasty brown in the oven. It's like a cross between the comfort food of Mom's cauliflower and ease of Roasted Cauliflower, which was the very first -- first! -- recipe published on Day One of A Veggie Venture back Before the Internet in 2005.

RECIPE for WHOLE ROASTED CAULIFLOWER with LEMON VINAIGRETTE

Hands-on time: 10 minutes
Time to table: 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hours
Serves about 6, depending on size of cauliflower

1 head cauliflower
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt

LEMON VINAIGRETTE
1 tablespoon olive oil
Juice of a lemon
Pepper to taste
1 tablespoon small capers

Preheat oven to 450F.

Wash the head of cauliflower under running water. (Why? Always wash fruits and vegetables!.) Trim off the outer leaves. With a sharp knife, remove a cone-shaped piece from the core, keeping the head intact. (Need an illustration? How to clean and trim a cauliflower.) With your fingers, rub a little olive oil into the bottom of an oven-safe baking dish, rub the remainder on all over the cauliflower, working the oil into the crevasses as best you can. Sprinkle with salt and place core-side down in the baking dish. Bake for 1 hour or 1-1/4 hours, until the exterior is brown and crusty and the center soft. If you like, transfer to a serving dish.

Meanwhile, whisk the vinaigrette ingredients. With a spoon, drizzle the vinaigrette over the top of the cauliflower, slowly to let it soak in as much as it will. Serve and savor ...

ALANNA's TIPS & KITCHEN NOTES
The inspiring recipe called for 2 tablespoons of oil for the head of cauliflower, I actually tried to use this much, it just didn't soak in.
The inspiring recipe calls for 4 tablespoon oil to a tablespoon of lemon juice. Certainly, this is the proportions of a classic vinaigrette. Trouble is, only so much vinaigrette actually soaks in.

TODAY'S VEGETABLE RECIPE INSPIRATION
The much-missed Gourmet, November 2006 via Epicurious

NUTRITION ESTIMATE (How many calories in Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Lemon Vinaigrette? How many Weight Watchers points in Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Lemon Vinaigrette?) Per Serving: 68 Calories; 4g Tot Fat; 1g Sat Fat; 0mg Cholesterol; 269mg Sodium; 6g Carb; 3g Fiber; 3g Sugar; 2g Protein; Weight Watchers 1 point

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MORE FAVORITE CAULIFLOWER RECIPES
~ Curried Cauliflower ~
~ Cauliflower Spanish 'Rice' ~
~ Cauliflower Cream ~
~ more cauliflower recipes ~
from A Veggie Venture

~ Lighter Mashed 'Potatoes' ~
~ Quick Cauliflower Soup ~
~ Cauliflower Risotto ~
~ more cauliflower recipes ~
from Kitchen Parade, my food column

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© Copyright Kitchen Parade 2010

Calabacitas ♥

Today's easy-easy concept recipe: Onions, summer squash and chilis quick-cooked in the skillet, with as much (or as little!) heat as you can stand! Low carb.

2:00 pm E-MAIL from ME: "I have a fridgeful of Hatch chilis that appeared at the grocery over the weekend, am hunting around for something interesting/easy to do with them. Suggestions?"

2:05 pm E-MAIL RESPONSE from my friend SALLY DENTON: "Yes!! Calabacitas. Sauté garlic in a skillet in olive oil. Add chopped onion, sliced yellow and zuccini squash; half a bag frozen corn; and as much green chiles as you can handle. Salt & pepper and serve topped with grated parmesan or cheddar cheese. Yum. Sure sign of fall."

2:10 pm E-MAIL RESPONSE to Sally: "Sold."

How in the world have I missed calabacitas? [How to pronounce calabacitas? kal-uh-BAH-see-tas, correction, it is pronounced kal-uh-bah-SEE-tas] Quick and easy, flexible, adaptable, healthful, fresh, cheap. That makes up half the recipes on all of A Veggie Venture!

The only caveat, know your heat. Let me put that another way, Know the LIMITS to your heat. I took Sally's challenge of "add as many chilis as you can stand" the first time I made Calabacitas, I thought that was two Hatch chilis. OUCH. The dish was great, but the chilis were left in a huge pile on the dish, not edible. I might use a whole poblano chili for this but if it were a jalapeño or another chili with heat, know what you like!

This another "concept recipes" -- we do love concept recipes, right?! The basics are the onion, zucchini, yellow squash and chilis, but after that, add and subtract as you see fit. I can imagine lima beans, chopped tomatoes, chopped okra and piles of fresh herbs. What seems right to you?

RECIPE for CALABACITAS

Hands-on time: 10 minutes active plus occasional attention throughout
Time to table: 20 minutes
Serves 4 or 6, depending on quantities

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, chopped in large pieces
Chili - as much as you can handle, next time I'll start with a whole poblano or a small jalapeño
1 zucchini, ends trimmed, quartered lengthwise, then cut cross-wise into large pieces
1 yellow squash, same
1 ear corn, husked and corn cut off the cob into a bowl with a knife
1/2 ounce cheese (I used the gorgeous Mexican cotija)
Salt & pepper to taste
Fresh cilantro, chopped

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil on MEDIUM HIGH til shimmery. Add the onion and chilis as they're prepped, stir to coat with fat, let cook until the onions begin to turn golden, don't be afraid of a little color. Add the zucchini and yellow squash as they're prepped, stir well to coat with fat, let cook, stirring only occasionally, letting a little color and even a little burn appear on the pieces of squash. When the mixture is mostly cooked, add the corn and let cook just a minute. Stir in the cheese and season to taste. Add the cilantro, give it all one last stir, then, yes, you've got it, Serve and Savor.

ALANNA'S TIPS & KITCHEN NOTES
If the hot skillet gets dry, add a splash or two of water. This is one of the great ways to limit fat when cooking vegetables, using just enough for flavor and that 'glisten' we love, but without so many calories.

NUTRITION ESTIMATE (How many calories in Calabacitas? How many Weight Watchers points in Calabacitas?) Per Serving: 96 Calories; 5g Tot Fat; 1g Sat Fat; 3mg Cholesterol; 60mg Sodium; 12g Carb; 3g Fiber; 3g Sugar; 3g Protein; Weight Watchers 2 points

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MORE FAVORITE ZUCCHINI RECIPES
~ Easy Cheesy Zucchini ~
~ Easy Autumn Leaves in Soup ~
~ Zucchini with Tomatoes & Cheddar ~
~ more summer squash recipes ~
from A Veggie Venture

~ Shredded Zucchini with Thyme ~
~ Balkan Sausage Stew ~
~ Carrot & Zucchini Bread ~
~ more zucchini recipes ~
from Kitchen Parade, my food column

NEVER MISS A RECIPE! For 'home delivery' of new recipes from A Veggie Venture, sign up here. Once you do, new recipes will be delivered, automatically, straight to your e-mail In Box.

© Copyright Kitchen Parade 2010

Savory Stir-Fried Sweet Potatoes ♥

Today's sweet potato recipe: An easy weeknight supper vegetable, grated sweet potatoes cooked with a touch of heat and a splash of soy sauce. Low carb and full of flavor. For Weight Watchers, the sweet potatoes add up to just one point!

Well hello, fall, so glad you're back.

The acorns may not yet thwack onto the roof but food-wise, I'm ready to put aside the spare bites of summer tomato and sweet corn and even this year's much-beloved okra. I'm ready to gird my table for the hibernation that is winter.

And isn't this the wonder of seasonal eating, loving each and every bite of the season's best, then moving onto the next season, ready to love each and every morsel in its own time? When I was a girl, I listened to Judy Collins sing "Turn, Turn, Turn: To Everything There Is a Season" until the 45rpm wore thin. As I listen now on YouTube, I realize how much the words guide my soul, food and otherwise.

And if this recipe for savory sweet potatoes -- published just yesterday! in the New York Times -- is any indication of repasts to come, hello fall, indeed. Chances are, all the ingredients are on hand, if not, no special trips to Trader Joe's or some specialty place are needed. Yet at least for me, this was an entirely new take on sweet potatoes, dark and toasty, sporting a little heat from a chili, something that will definitely cure sweet potatoes of the anathema of marshmallow sweetness.

I cooked the sweet potatoes an hour or so before supper, then reheated to serve with short ribs, some wonderful couscous (recipe to come, I promise!) and Me & Joe Went Hunting table conversation with two lifetime hunters. All were memorable but especially, yes, fall's first sweet potatoes.

TESTIMONIALS
"It was fantastic!! ... Best part - my husband ate it ALL and said it was definitely something we needed to make again!! SO good!!" ~ Cher
"TWO THUMBS UP!!" ~ Molly

RECIPE for SAVORY STIR-FRIED SWEET POTATOES

Hands-on time: 15 minutes
Time to table: 35 minutes
Serves 6

4 green onions, trimmed and cut into one-inch pieces
2 cloves garlic (see TIPS)
1" piece of fresh ginger, peeled (see TIPS)
1 small fresh hot chili (I used a Thai chili), stem, seeds and membrane removed

1-1/2 pounds sweet potatoes (see TIPS), peeled

1-1/2 tablespoons peanut oil
Salt & pepper to taste
1 tablespoon soy sauce

Green onion tops, cut into rings, for garnish (oops, mine were wilted so I used fresh parsley)
Sesame seeds, for garnish
More soy sauce for the table? (see TIPS)

FOOD PROCESSOR In a food processor with the blade attachment, chop the green onions, garlic, ginger and chili until finely chopped. (No food processor? Just chop finely.) Remove from the food processor.

GRATE If using a food processor, cut the sweet potatoes into pieces that will fit into the chute. Attach the grating blade, then grate the sweet potatoes. (No food processor? Leave the sweet potatoes whole, then use a hand grater.)

STIR-FRY Heat a large skillet on medium high, add the oil and heat until shimmery. When hot, add the grated onion-garlic-ginger-chili mixture, stir to coat with fat and cook for about 30 seconds. Add the sweet potatoes and stir to coat with fat. Cook, stirring occasionally and adding water if the sweet potatoes begin to stick, until they are fully cooked, about 25 minutes.

SEASON, GARNISH & SERVE Season with salt and pepper and stir in the soy sauce. To serve immediately, transfer to a serving dish, garnish with green onion and sesame seeds. Otherwise, turn off the heat, let rest until ready to serve, gently rewarm, transfer to a serving dish, garnish and serve.

ALANNA's TIPS & KITCHEN NOTES - Such a simple recipe, so many tips!
GARLIC & ONION Two of my most-used pantry items for weeknight cooking are jars of garlic and jars of ginger from a nearby Asian market, picture here. Fresh garlic and ginger? Of course but tonight I went the easy route.
GARNET SWEET POTATOES Look for red-skinned Garnet sweet potatoes. They are harder to find than brown-skinned sweet potatoes, also more perishable and thus more expensive -- but they have excellent flavor and are less prone to a mealy texture. That said, tonight I used regular brown-skinned sweet potatoes.
MORE SOY SAUCE? The inspiring recipe suggested that more soy sauce might be used on the final dish at the table, we found no need for it.
MODIFICATIONS 1) I cooked all the green onion-garlic-ginger-chili mixture, where the original recipe saved half the green onion for garnishing the cooked dish. 2) I used only 1-1/2 tablespoons oil (plus water to prevent sticking) versus the 3 tablespoons specified.

TODAY'S VEGETABLE RECIPE INSPIRATION Stir-Fried Sweet Potatoes from The Minimalist column by Mark Bittman in the New York Times in which he extols the virtues of a food processor.

NUTRITION ESTIMATE (How many calories in Savory Stir-Fried Sweet Potatoes? How many Weight Watchers points in Savory Stir-Fried Sweet Potatoes?)

Per Serving, If Serving 6 (using A Veggie Venture's standard portion size of 1/4 pound vegetables per serving): 49 Calories; 1g Tot Fat; 0g Sat Fat; 0mg Cholesterol; 172mg Sodium; 9g Carb; 2g Fiber; 2g Sugar; 1g Protein; Weight Watchers 1 point

Per Serving, If Serving 4 (the sweet potatoes do cook down): 74 Calories; 2g Tot Fat; 0g Sat Fat; 0mg Cholesterol; 258mg Sodium; 14g Carb; 2g Fiber; 3g Sugar; 2g Protein; Weight Watchers 1 point

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MORE FAVORITE SWEET POTATO RECIPES, for FALL, YOU KNOW
~ Delicious Microwave Sweet Potato ~
~ Fresh Candied Yams ~
~ Sweet Potato & Butternut Squash Tagine ~
~ more sweet potato recipes ~
from A Veggie Venture

~ Rustic Mashed Potatoes & Carrots ~
~ Sweet Potato Salad with Roasted Poblano, Roasted Corn & Chipotle ~
~ Chicken Cider Stew ~
~ more sweet potato recipes ~
from Kitchen Parade, my food column

NEVER MISS A RECIPE! For 'home delivery' of new recipes from A Veggie Venture, sign up here. Once you do, new recipes will be delivered, automatically, straight to your e-mail In Box.

© Copyright Kitchen Parade 2010