This is one method of making cauliflower that has been passed through several generations of our family. It is a rather traditional method of making vegetables in the lathera ("with oil") family of foods. We enjoy lathera foods because of the lovely tomato sauce with olive oil aftertaste. This sauce uses tomato paste and water, which makes this dish simple and clean. Frying the cauliflower to a nice brown colour, and then adding cinnamon to the sauce really brought another layer of lingering flavours that we absolutely enjoy. Some people prefer to replace the cinnamon with cloves or allspice, which offer different flavour profiles, and with different vegetables. With the chilly nights we have had this year, the cinnamon seemed very comforting.
Start this dish by cutting the cauliflower into large florets. You want the pieces to be the size of about two to three bites. You can decide how much cauliflower you want to eat. This dish is usually very good the second day, but anything longer than that, the cinnamon becomes a little overwhelming, so it is best to do this recipe as needed instead of cooking a large batch.
Heat two tablespoons (or so) of oil in a frying pan. Make the oil hot enough to quickly brown the cauliflower without cooking it to be soft. Also, try to make each side of the cut cauliflower golden in colour.
In a separate pot or saucepan, heat three to four Tablespoons of tomato paste. You just want to get the paste warm, and then pour a cup of water into the saucepan to dissolve the tomato paste. Heat (medium high) this to get rid of any lumps, and get the sauce hot.
Add a generous sprinkle of cinnamon, two dashes of salt, and a dabble of pepper. Stir this together to make sure all the ingredients are well distributed, and bring the mixture to a boil.
Once the tomato sauce comes to a boil, turn down the heat to medium so it is still very hot, but not a rolling boil. Now, add the fried cauliflower to the pot of sauce. While it makes sense to pour the sauce over the cauliflower, go the other direction -- put the fried cauliflower into the simmering sauce. This is so the cauliflower does not stick to the pan, and you want fresh oil in the sauce, not the frying oil. Bring the sauce back to a boil for three to five minutes, until the cauliflower is cooked through the center. Then, turn off the heat. Let the pot sit for five minutes before serving. This will allow the cinnamon, salt and pepper to settle and give the fullest flavour. Then, in good Greek fashion, pour a swirl of olive oil on top of the sauce covered cauliflower. Serve this as a side dish or with rice.
St, John of Kronstadt (My Life in Christ: Part II, Holy Trinity Monastery pg. 276)
Source of quote: http://theodorakis.net/orthodoxquotescomplete.html
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