Cauliflower "Couscous"

Cauliflower “Couscous” from A Thought For Food #glutenfree #vegetarian #recipe

Image from "Cauliflower Couscous" from A Thought For Food

Cauliflower “Couscous” from A Thought For Food #glutenfree #vegetarian #recipe

Am I the only one who spends a lot of time thinking when they're in the shower?  Often I just stand there, singing along to songs on the radio, pondering the day's activities.  And when I'm gearing up to work on a recipe, it's during this time that my best ideas emerge.

I'm probably not the first person to come up with cauliflower "couscous" but when it popped into my brain, well, I must admit that I gave myself a pat on the back.  I know... I know. Show a little modesty, Brian. But, hey, I was proud of myself.  It's not often that one of my crazy concepts actually works, so when it not only met my expectations, but exceeded them, I was beyond giddy.

Just to clarify, this is not actually couscous, but a gluten-free substitute made from cauliflower.  That's why I put the quotation marks in the title... in case you were wondering.

On a separate note, I realized that I completely forgot to share this post I did for the Kinfolk Magazine online journal on the Siena Farms South End store.  Head on over to the Kinfolk site to check it out.

Cauliflower “Couscous” from A Thought For Food #glutenfree #vegetarian #recipe

Cauliflower "Couscous"

serves 4 as side dish

Ingredients

1 large head of cauliflower

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 yellow onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup pine nuts

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Salt and black pepper, to taste

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Special Tools

Food processor

Directions

1. Break the florets away from the rest of the head of cauliflower, making sure to leave behind as much of the stem as possible.  Chop the florets into smaller pieces and then transfer to a food processor and pulse until the pieces until they are finally chopped and resemble couscous.

2. Place the dried cranberries in a bowl and pour warm water over them to plump them up.  Let sit for 15 minutes.

3. In a small saute pan, heat the olive oil on medium heat.  Add the onion and cook for 3 minutes, or until onion is translucent.  Add garlic and season with salt and pepper, and, stirring often, cook for another minute.

4. Add the cauliflower couscous to the pan, season with cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper, and additional salt and black pepper.  Cook for another 3-4 minutes.

5. In a separate skillet, toast the pine nuts over medium-low heat.  Make sure to shake the pan frequently to ensure they toast evenly and don't burn (note: watch them carefully as they can quickly go from perfectly toasted to burnt).

6. Drain the bowl of cranberries and add them, along with the toasted pine nuts and chopped parsley, to the couscous mixture. Taste for seasoning and, if necessary, add salt and pepper.

Seared Scallops with Fettuccine + Kale

Seared Scallops with Fettuccine + Kale from A Thought For Food

Whole Wheat Pasta from A Thought For Food

Every day I learn a bit more about what makes me happy.  The list changes as I go.  Cooking an elaborate meal for Eric, cuddle time with Maki, a long hot shower on a winter morning.   A song, a book, a walk, a nap.  These are the things... the seemingly "little things" that bring me joy.  As messy as life can be, these are the things that create balance and I hold onto these moments with a tight grip.

Seared Scallops with Fettuccine + Kale

Seared Scallops with Fettuccine + Kale

serves 4

Ingredients

1 bunch of kale, washed and stems removed

1 pound whole wheat fettuccine or linguini

1 pound sea scallops, rinsed

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 yellow onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, chopped

Zest of 1/2 a lemon

Red pepper flakes, to taste

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Slice the kale leaves thinly and set aside.

2. Put up a pot of salted water and bring to a boil.  Add pasta and cook based on the directions on the box.

3. Dry the sea scallops with paper towels.  Season with salt and pepper.

4. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and butter on high heat.  Once it begins to smoke, add the scallops and cook for approximately 3 minutes, or until it has browned on one side.  Using tongs, flip the scallops and cook for an additional 1 to 2 minutes, depending on the size of the scallops.  Set them aside on a plate.

5. In the same skillet, cook the onions for 1 to 2 minutes.  Add the kale and garlic cloves, season with salt and ground black pepper and cook for another 4 minutes.  Toss the pasta with the kale mixture.  Mix in the parsley, lemon zest and season with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.

6. Serve the pasta and kale with scallops on top.  Grate some Parmesan cheese on top.

Burnt Eggplant with Lemon, Garlic and Pomegranate Seeds

Burnt Eggplant with Lemon, Garlic and Pomegranate Seeds from A Thought For Food

Burnt Eggplant from A Thought For Food

Here's the truth: I don't like using cookbooks.  This doesn't mean that I don't enjoy reading them (I definitely do) or look at the pictures (I study each one for an inordinate amount of time) or that I'm not inspired by them.  I just don't like cooking from them.  The first problem is that I'm TERRIBLE at following directions.  I have the worst memory in the world when it comes to measurements, so I have to go back to read the ingredient list at least four times before I get it straight.  And then I have to follow the directions... yeah right. That's not going to happen.  By the point that I realize that maybe I should go peek at the instructions, I've already chopped and mixed everything... and sometimes it's already made its way into the oven or onto the table.

So, when I decided that I was actually going to make something from my newly acquired copy of Jerusalem (which, I can not emphasize enough... you. must. buy. it. now. You won't regret it), I made my greatest effort to follow every direction carefully.  Between you and me, I failed at that... but it didn't matter, this is one of those recipes that's hard to screw up.

I must admit that I got some strange looks.  Pomegranate and eggplant?  Together?  Really?  That's... ummmm... unique.  But, believe me, it works.  Just be prepared for some surprised faces when they bite into their first seed.  It's priceless.

Burnt Eggplant with Lemon, Garlic and Pomegranate Seeds from A Thought For Food

Burnt Eggplant with Lemon, Garlic and Pomegranate Seeds from A Thought For Food

Burnt Eggplant with Lemon, Garlic and Pomegranate Seeds from A Thought For Food

Burnt Eggplant with Garlic, Lemon and Pomegranate Seeds

(adapted from Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi)

serves 4 as an appetizer

Ingredients

4 large eggplants

3 cloves garlic, minced

grated zest of 1 lemon and 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

4 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp tahini

2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley

2 tbsp chopped mint

seeds of 1/2 large pomegranate

1 tsp smoked paprika

salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.  Line a large baking pan (or two, if necessary) with aluminum foil.

2. Using a sharp pairing knife, make deep gashes throughout the eggplant.  Place the eggplants on the baking pans.

3. Roast in the oven for an hour (rotating every 20 minutes) or until the eggplant skin has burnt evenly throughout.

4. Remove the eggplant and let cool.  Once it is cool enough to handle, peel away the skin and, using a spoon, scoop out the flesh of the eggplant, transporting to a mixing bowl.

5. Place eggplant into a colander and let sit for at least an hour, or until it has drained most of its liquid.  Once this is done, transfer back to the mixing bowl.

6. Mash the eggplant with a fork.  Mix in the garlic, lemon zest and juice.  Stir in the olive oil and tahini.  Refrigerate for 30-40 minutes to let it develop its flavor.

7. Remove from the refrigerator.  Mix in 3/4 of the parsley, 3/4 of the mint, and 3/4 of the pomegranate seeds.  Season with smoked paprika, salt and freshly ground pepper.

8. Garnish with remaining pomegranate seeds, mint, parsley, and a drizzle of olive oil.  Serve with pita bread.