Make cauliflower lovable again! Michael Anthony, the James Beard award-winning chef of Untitled and Gramercy Tavern, turns this often-overlooked vegetable into a crowd pleaser with an inventive and fresh take: seared on the plancha, dusted with sumac, before being topped with herbs & walnuts. You can watch him prepare this dish in our upcoming Where the Chefs Eat episode and learn why it just may have helped his wife fall in love with him. And if you aren’t feeling like cooking, belly up to the bar at Untitled and order one.
Note: For those with allergies, the nuts and thinly sliced red onion can easily be removed.
Green Grape and Apple Vinaigrette
1 pint of green grapes
2 apples, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup mint leaves
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt to taste
Lime juice to taste
1/2 pickled jalapeño, deseeded
Add everything into a Vitamix or blender. Blend together while streaming in olive oil. Then pass through Chinois or fine sieve. Set aside.
Cauliflower Steaks
Cut a large head of cauliflower into cross-cut strips/steaks 1/4-inch thick.
Steam in oven for 15 minutes (if you don’t have a steam oven, steam in a basket over a rolling boil on the stovetop).
Sear each side of the cauliflower until golden brown on a plancha (metal plate used for grilling), or grill.
The excess trim can be put in a food processor and fried to garnish.
Plating
2 teaspoons green grape and apple vinaigrette
4 seared cauliflower steaks, coated in sumac
Salt, to taste
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
5 halved green grapes
3 teaspoons toasted walnuts
1 teaspoons fried cauliflower for each
1/4 of a red onion, shaved
Cilantro and mint to garnish
Spoon the green grape and apple vinaigrette sauce on your board or plate. Coat the florets in sumac and sear on the plancha. Plate. Season with salt and lemon juice. Garnish with toasted walnuts, seedless green grapes, fried cauliflower trim, and a salad of mint, cilantro, and shaved red onion.
