A Quick Dinner (Mashed Cauliflower)

I’ll be spending the day shopping for all the stuff we’ll be needing for class on Saturday, which means quick trips to Assi and Produce Junction, really the best places for vegetables in the area.  Produce Junction does such volume that their stuff is always perfectly fresh.  It’s not the place to go for organic, small farm produce, but if you want standard veg, eggplant, lettuce, fruit, along with all sorts of crazy Latino/Caribbean produce, you could do far worse.  This is where I get cactus paddles.  Assi is another story.  It is a huge warehouse, a Korean owned place with every kind of Asian pickled, dried or salted food.  They have vegetables that I’ve never seen, so I buy them just because.  I’ve had great talks in the aisles with Asian grandmothers who want to tell me how to cook something that I’ve just picked off the shelf.  We’ll get to Assi some other time.  The place deserves a longer discussion.

Last night’s dinner was great.  That’s an especially big statement, since I’ll be going to the market today and the fridge was a little light.  Since today will be busy and I have to get the coffee going or else I’ll never get started, here’s the speedy rundown.   

We had just a few things hanging around, pork chops, tortellini, and cauliflower.  The chops were easy, brush them with Dijon mustard and grill them, done.  Buttered tortellini, never bad.  The star of the dinner was the cauliflower.  I had originally planned to separate it into florets and hit it with butter, but serendipity stepped in, as I dropped the head in the sink while draining.  It was a real mess.  I decided to put it back in the pot, mash it and not admit my clumsiness to the family.  Since cauliflower is not starchy, you’ll have to cook the mash for a bit to sweat out the water and tighten up the puree.  Three of us ate the whole head.  Here’s the quick recipe.

_____

Mashed Cauliflower

1 medium head cauliflower

2 tbs. unsalted butter

1/2 pt. heavy cream

salt and white pepper

Put 1 inch of salted water in a heavy stockpot with a lid, bring it to a boil.  With a sharp paring knife, cut off the leaves and the hard outer core at the bottom of the cauliflower head.  Leave the head intact, do not separate into florets.  Steam the whole head for 15 minutes, until a knife pressed into it cuts smoothly to the center.

Drain the water.  Put the head back into the stockpot and put it on high heat.  Add the butter and cream.  Season with salt and white pepper.  With a hand potato masher, mash the cauliflower into a coarse puree. 

At this point, the puree will be quite wet.  Continue cooking while stirring constantly with a wooden spoon.  The water will evaporate and the cream will reduce, making a puree about the consistency of thick mashed potatoes.  Adjust the seasoning with salt and white pepper.  Serve immediately.