Am I so late that you have already eaten everything in the box?
Perhaps this week’s gorgeous box put me in a food coma? Laid out on a kitchen counter, gorgeous huge chard leaves (did you use them to make something delicious and wrapped and braised?), huge head of leaf lettuce (wrap, sandwich or salad at your house?), tomatoes both slicers and tiny, cucumbers galore, radishes, green onions and what about all that squash? Would love to know what variety of zucchini that is that grows so big but still tender.
If you’re in need of lettuce inspiration, we have quite a few ideas posted on Riverview’s recipe site. I know the lettuce cake bars may seem weird, but they’re surprising delicious, even if you’re using leaf lettuce and not iceberg. Not sure why the vegetable pancakes are posted there, but they are mighty good. I’m making the buttermilk green onion dressing because I’m slicing those cucumbers and some of the squash into sticks and using them to munch on while I’m at my desk. (Better than chips, right?) So I dress up my healthy vegs with dressing.
But I’m glossing over the star of the box – the cauliflower! Almost too pretty to eat and so seldom do we get cauliflower. Yes, you can roast it. Please do. Or slice it into steaks and grill it (check out this recipe we ran in the AJC – you’ll have to scroll past some other grilling recipes). The AJC recipe has a beer-raisin sauce that’s actually really good.
Some of you may be ricing that cauliflower or using it as the basis for a gluten-free pizza crust. All good. Me? I’d just be eating florets, probably with that buttermilk dressing. 🙂
I can’t see that we’ve posted any cauliflower recipes online, so here’s one for the books. It’s a variation on the idea of ricing the cauliflower.
Cauliflower Couscous with Spiced Butter
From “David Tanis Market Cooking.” His directions call for you to reserve stems, etc. for another use – but I throw them in the food processor and chop them finely, then include.
Salt
1 large cauliflower
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cloves
Pinch cayenne
2 tablespoons chopped chives
1 tablespoon lime juice, or to taste
Heat oven to 400 degrees.
Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil.
Cut cauliflower into tiny florets, as small as possible. Save stems and other trimmings for another purpose. Working in batches, cook cauliflower in water 1 to 2 minutes or just until tender but still firm. Scoop from pot and drain. Continue until all cauliflower is cooked. Move drained cauliflower to a heatproof serving dish. Taste to see if it needs more salt.
In a small skillet, melt butter. Stir in ginger, turmeric, pepper, nutmeg, cloves and cayenne. Drizzle butter over cauliflower and toss gently. Put into oven and bake 10 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with chives and drizzle with lime juice and serve immediately.