Monday, October 25, 2010

Best. Cauliflower. Ever.

Yeah, I know.  Unbelievable.  But in continuing to blog about whatever the heck I'm thinking about, I'm sharing another recipe.  We had a fantastic fall menu last night:  pork roast, sweet potatoes, apple pie (that recipe is also on this blog!).  But the best part of dinner was the roasted cauliflower.  This recipe is several years old, torn out of the paper (AJC) way back when we still got the paper.  Here it is:

A head of cauliflower, rinsed
1/4 c. golden raisins
4 garlic cloves
2-3 T olive oil
2-3 whole thyme sprigs (which I usually forget; they aren't critical)
1/4 c. panko crumbs
2 t butter

(Oven at 400.) Cover the raisins in hot tap water and let them sit while you do the other things.  Core the cauliflower and separate it into small flowerets.  You want the cauliflower to be fairly uniform in size.  Crush the garlic and remove the papery husks.

Place the cauliflower and garlic, along with pine nuts, in a 9 x 13 pyrex dish.  Drizzle with olive oil and stir.  Spread it back out, add thyme sprigs, and place in oven.  Roast for about 10 minutes, give the mixture a stir, and pop back in the oven for 10 more minutes.  Add oil if it looks dry.  Stir again, and roast for 5-10 more minutes.  The cauliflower will start to look caramelized around the edges.  Remove the pan from the oven, remove thyme sprigs and garlic cloves, and turn the oven up to broil.  Add the raisins and give things another stir.  Then push it all together so it is touching but still pretty much in a single layer.  Sprinkle with an even layer of panko crumbs and then dot with butter.  Broil for about 2 minutes, about 6 inches from the heating element.

YUM.  Just had some leftovers for lunch.  Enjoy!

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