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To many people there’s nothing very exciting about cauliflower. In fact, it always seems like an old
auntie’s dish. But, cooked a certain way, with some great cheese I think that it reaches incredible
heights. This cooks up to a luxurious silky texture. Stewed cauliflower is a one-pot meal and is so simple
that your ten year old can make it. You can call them about 45 minutes before you get home and let
them know that its time to start cooking, son! The hardest thing is cutting up the cauliflower and that’s
not hard at all. The smaller the pieces, the faster this cooks. You don’t even have to worry about taking
out the core. Just make sure you cut it into smaller, finer pieces and it will cook in a snap.
Cut the cauliflower into small pieces and set aside. Finely chop up one white onion. Look in your fridge.
If you have chunks of tough parmigiano or cheese that hasn’t been properly wrapped, that’s perfect!
That’s exactly what you want. Now is their time to shine. Cube up the tough cheese, rinds and all. In a
fairly large pot, heat up some olive oil and add in your onions. Cook until they’re translucent. This is
your
soffritto
, or your flavour base. Throw in some diced parsley and all your cauliflower. Give it a good
mix. Add in a generous amount of salt and pepper , and now add in two cups of pureed tomatoes and
half a cup of water. Give it a good mix, lower your heat to medium put the lid on and let it cook,
checking on it every so often, for 40 minutes. The heat of the pot and the steam will break up the cauli-
flower and it will be a beautifully stewed dish. Take it off the heat. I like to give it a fairly rough mix
and mash down any large pieces of cauliflower with the back of my spoon. Now I add in my pieces of
cheese and about half a cup of parmgiano. Mix it very well and let it rest for 10-15 minutes. It will
thicken up. This tastes best served warm, or at room temperature. The parmigiano will melt and add
flavor. The chunks of cheese will only semi melt and will give you a little cheese surprise every so often.
If you want to turn this into a main course, you can break up some pasta and throw it in as well at the
beginning of the 40 minutes. Just add more water. Call me an old auntie, but the cauliflower alone is
one of my absolute favorites.
Cavolfiori stufati al pomodoro
(the Best Cauliflower ever)
Chef Recipe
Recipe by:
David Rocco
Appearing in October 2012
at Eat & Drink at Flavourfest
Norfolk County Fair and Horse Show
1 large
head of cauliflower
1 medium white onion
1/2 cup (110 ml) grated parmigiano
1/2 cup (110 ml) hard cheese, cubed,
rinds on (optional)
1 bunch
parsley, chopped
2 cups (450 ml)
pureed tomatoes
water
salt and pepper