I think you are gonna love this! There is an entire head of cauliflower hiding in this Mac & Cheese. When cooked very soft, the cauliflower makes a superb sauce which is has a beautiful creamy texture and very neutral in taste (in other words, does not taste like cauliflower). This recipe is from Mark Bittman's 'The Food Matters Cookbook'. If you don't have a food processor or blender, a potato masher can be used, the sauce will be a little chunkier, but it will still be very good.
You can use ordinary breadcrumbs for the topping (or leave it off entirely), but Panko crumbs are drier then other breadcrumbs and so make a crisper topping. Just take a look at the beautifully brown, crispy bits in the photo above.
I can't remember the last time I ate Mac & Cheese. And, I will admit to being a bit apprehensive about this. While the cauliflower was cooking, there was an odor in the house, kind of like, well, over-cooked cauliflower. Fortunately, there was only the lovely smell of warm cheese in the finished Mac & Cheese.
I made this for Mother's Day because David's 2 year ago grandson, Taye was part of the party and I wanted to be sure there was something he would like. Taye wasn't too interested in eating much of anything, but all of us adults loved it. Taye did eat some ice cream later...
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus a bit more for the baking pan
salt
1 cup vegetable stock
1 cauliflower, cored and separated into large pieces
1 lb ziti, elbow, or other cut pasta (whole wheat, rice, kamut, etc)
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, or to taste
a few grating of fresh nutmeg
fresh ground black pepper
1/4 to 1/2 grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup whole wheat Panko breadcrumbs
1/4 cup butter, melted
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brush a 9x13" baking pan (or equivalent) with olive oil.
Cook the cauliflower in a large pot of salted boiling water until very tender (about 25 minutes). Remove the cauliflower from the water to a food processor (or blender). Add pasta to the boiling water and cook until half way to al dente. Drain pasta and place in a very large bowl.
While the pasta is cooking, process the cauliflower with 3/4 cup of the stock, 2 tablespoons olive oil, cheddar, mustard, nutmeg, and a pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper until very smooth. If using a blender, you may need to work this in a few batches. If the sauce needs to be thinned out, add a bit more stock. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Pour the sauce over the pasta and mix. Plunk the mixture into the prepared pan.
Sprinkle the top with the shredded Parmesan. Toss the Panko breadcrumbs with the melted butter and spread over top of the Parmesan.
Bake the pasta until casserole is bubbly and crumbs turn brown, 30 minutes or so. (We baked this in a ceramic baking dish and the sides were deliciously crisp - yum, that was the best part)
I received Heidi Swanson's new cookbook (Super Natural Every Day) a few days ago. Part of the wonder of this book is the beautiful photos (which she takes herself) but the other part is the wonderful, creative vegetarian food she creates. Her books are a great place to get inspired when I feel out of ideas. (her previous book Super Natural is wonderful also.) Also, both of these cookbooks are about food any home cook can accomplish, no chefy nonsense.
This recipe is my take on Heidi's Chickpea Stew (hers has eggs and dairy, so I had to change it up a bit)
Saffron is an investment (runs about $15 for a gram). Granted, I'm kind of a food nerd, by from my perspective there is no substitute for saffron and its worth the price because the taste is fabulous (and the fragrance also). (Note: I just saw saffron on amazon.com from pretty cheap to extremely expensive - I might try amazon next time I need it - they have anything!) Saffron lends a touch of the exotic, its quite common in Moroccan and Spanish cooking.
Saffron is very labor intensive to grow and harvest click here for the wikipedia entry for saffron. Its got a very long and interesting history.
This soup has a very delicate flavor and the saffron really shines.
This recipe has been shared at Slight Indulgent Tuesdays at Amy Green's blog Simple Sugar and Gluten Free.
1 - 2 tablespoons coconut oil (or olive oil)
2 large shallots, minced
salt to taste
2 - 4 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups vegetable stock (or water)
pinch of saffron
3 cups cooked chickpeas (or 1 15-oz can, drained and rinsed)
head of cauliflower (cut into quite small flowerettes - to nearly match the size of the chickpeas)
1 13.6 oz can full-fat organic coconut milk
handful of cilantro, cleaned and chopped
Heat the coconut oil in a large saucepan or dutch oven. Add shallots and a pinch of salt, saute until shallots begin to take on some color.
Meanwhile, heat the broth (or water) and drop in the saffron. Let this sit for a few minutes to allow the saffron to 'bloom'.
Add minced garlic to the shallots and saute a few minutes more. Add cauliflower and drained chickpeas and continue to saute a few minutes.
Add broth. Bring soup to a gentle simmer.
Open the can of coconut milk and spoon the solid part into your soup (you can use the whole can, including the more watery part - depending on how you like you soup), stir to incorporate. Taste and add more salt if desired. (can also add red pepper flake if you like spicy)
Turn off heat and add cilantro, stir into soup. Serve
Options:
- use yogurt or sour cream in place of coconut milk
- If not using saffron, substitute a bit of curry paste or curry powder (add this to the shallots and garlic and allow to saute for a few minutes)
- use any other combination of vegetable and beans you like (for instance: cannelini beans and broccoli or kidney beans and zucchini)
- don't like cilantro? add something else green: spinach, dandelion greens, finely chopped kale...
- of course, cooked chicken breast can be added
- white fish would be great here also, just place the portion sized pieces in the gently simmering broth and allow to cook thru - should take 10 - 15 minutes.
And - for an asian take on this soup:
- in place of saffron, season with small amounts of fresh minced ginger, tamari, fish sauce, red pepper flake
- gently warm cubed firm tofu in the soup and add chopped bok choy, napa cabbage, and cilantro at the very end so the greens will stay a bit crisp
