Author Notes: Thinking about the pork challenge for this week put me to thinking about side dishes. I had 2 small heads of cauliflower in the frig calling to me and so out they came onto my bamboo cutting board. I recently had a wonderful roasted cauliflower and brussels sprouts dish while having dinner in the bar with friends at Plumpjack /Lake Tahoe and had been thinking about it ever since, so now I had my inspiration. The sauce is a reduction sauce with each ingredient being reduced to intensify the flavor before adding the next. I started with some amber ale, followed by chicken stock, followed by cream. This results in a rich, layered flavor that goes great with the cauliflower. If curry isn’t your favorite spice, the dish works great without it as well. But the curry gives an extra dimension of flavor. I don’t list specific amounts of seasoning for the cauliflower as it depends on the size of the cauliflower heads you’re working with, so I describe it in terms of ‘pinches’. —TheWimpyVegetarian
Serves: 4 side dishes
Ingredients
Roasted Curried Cauliflower
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2
small heads of cauliflower
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olive oil
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salt
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black pepper
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curry powder
Mustard Cream Sauce with Thyme
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6
ounces amber ale
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1
medium shallot, minced
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1
teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, finely chopped
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1
cup your favorite chicken broth
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3/4
cup heavy cream
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1
tablespoon Dijon mustard
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1
tablespoon yellow mustard seeds
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pinch salt
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squeeze of lemon juice
Directions
Roasted Curried Cauliflower
- Preheat the oven to 400F. Slice the cauliflower in 3/4″ slices through the head top to bottom.
- Lightly toss on a baking sheet with enough olive oil to lightly coat the pieces; sprinkle with a couple healthy pinches of salt, pepper and one pinch of curry powder. Toss gently to coat without breaking the cauliflower into smaller pieces.
- Separate the pieces and roast for 30 minutes, or until tender. While the cauliflower is roasting, make the reduction cream sauce.
Mustard Cream Sauce with Thyme
- In a medium pot over medium high heat, bring the beer, shallots and thyme to a boil. Simmer tountil the beer is reduced to 1/4 cup.
- Add the chicken broth, bring back to a boil and simmer until the total liquid is reduced by half. You should have about 2/3 cup of liquid.
- Add the cream, bring to a simmer and reduce until you have 1 cup of liquid.
- Stir in the mustard, mustard seed and salt to taste. Finish with a squeeze of lemon to sharpen and balance out the flavors.
- Gently toss the roasted cauliflower with 1/4 cup of the mustard sauce. Serve some cauliflower on the plate and top with a drizzle of sauce.
/e671819a-4fef-462a-b67d-55323cc26e1a--roasted_cauliflower_with_mustard_cream_sauce_best.jpg "Roasted Curried Cauliflower in a Mustard Thyme Cream Sauce 2")
