I’ve never been keen on cauliflower. We didn’t eat much of it when I
was a kid, and I can recall actively avoiding cauliflower when I
encountered it on vegetable trays. (No amount of dip could conceal its
bitter, raw flavor.) Cauliflower made me uncomfortable. It was white
and lumpen; it gave me weird gas. I steered clear for a long time.
Last year, cauliflower and I had a breakthrough. A friend in New
York urged me to read Fine Cooking magazine, a publication I had
avoided because I didn’t like the generic, plain look of it (sort of
like cauliflower). I found myself moved by an article titled
“Cauliflower: Discover the Hidden Talents of this Winter Gem,”
extolling its nutty and sweet flavors. I was surprised, but remained
skeptical. Soon I began noticing the bountiful, lovingly arranged piles
of cauliflower at the co-op. When I read an article, “How to Roast
Cauliflower,” in Cook’s Illustrated (my favorite cooking
magazine) that used words like “golden,” “creamy,” and—the
kicker—”caramelized,” I broke down and welcomed cauliflower into
my kitchen.
I’ve since tried a few different recipes—stir-fried with green
peas and ginger, browned with anchovies and capers—but the
simplest one (from the February 2007 issue of Cook’s
Illustrated) is my favorite. With just a high-heat oven and some
olive oil, I’m miraculously able to make cauliflower so beautifully
brown and sweet and tender, it’s like eating a cloud. I hardly
recognize the vegetable I foolishly avoided for so long.
