Cauliflower Curry

I’m trying to incorporate a greater diversity of fruits, vegetables, herbs, etc., in our diet. I do, however, get rather bored steaming broccoli and cauliflower all the time. I’m not bored by the taste, but I like to shake things up a bit once in a while, cooking-wise.

Anthony Bourdain would be appalled, but I developed this recipe by watching . . . Rachael Ray. I have made it using Thai red curry paste as well as Thai Green Curry Paste, with garbanzos instead of pine nuts, and with kaffir lime leaves. So far, the version below is the one I like the best, but feel free to experiment and change ingredients to suit your own tastes. The green curry paste provides a more mellow flavor, and I like the crunch of the pine nuts.

Cauliflower Curry

• 2 medium heads of cauliflower, cleaned and broken into florets

• 2-3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• 1 Tablespoons Thai green curry paste

• 1 Tablespoon ground cumin

• 1-2 Tablespoon garam masala

• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed

• 2-3 stalks of lemon grass, white end only, crushed or sliced thinly in rings

• 1, 1-inch piece of fresh turmeric, grated on a microplane grater (substitute 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of dried turmeric if fresh is unavailable)

• 1 teaspoon ginger, grated on a microplane grater

• 2 bay leaves

• 1 can unsweetened coconut milk

• 1/2 cup vegetable broth (or water) This is an approximate amount – you want enough total liquid to come halfway up the cauliflower

• 1/4-1/2 cup of raisins

• 1/4 cup of pine nuts, toasted

• 3 Tablespoons cilantro, chopped for garnishing

• salt and pepper to tasteHeat olive oil over medium heat in a pan big enough to hold the cauliflower (I use a wok). Add the curry paste and saute for a couple minutes, but do not let it burn. Add the garam masala, cumin, garlic, lemon grass, turmeric, ginger, bay leaves, salt and pepper, and saute for about 1 minute. Stir constantly, and if mixture looks like it is browning, pull it off the heat for a moment.

  Add the cauliflower and stir to coat with the spice and oil mixture. Add coconut milk and vegetable broth. Stir in raisins. Cover pan and cook on low heat for about 8-10 minutes, until cauliflower is tender but not falling apart. Remove bay leaves and lemongrass stems (if you did not slice them into rings). Add pine nuts.

  To serve, sprinkle with cilantro. The sauce goes well with rice.