It's one of those 'mother-in-law recipes she never thought was that big a deal'...but then again my mother-in-law was Sicilian and only if it was a takes-two-days-long recipe it might qualify as a big deal.
What is slow food? After 20 years of experiencing it from the European side, and growing up with it on the Texan side, I might be getting at the idea.
Yesterday I was home. Really home. No pressing engagements. Few phone calls. And a desire to create something. I saw this desire in Sicily every day. My sister-in-law created variations of old favorites, new fantastic dishes, creams, pastries, pastas and terrines. And she's just your typical Sicilian housewife (per her!).
Yesterday's dinner came together so fluidly and easily and yummily...and it was because of, well, just time. Plenty of it. No rush. Put the cauliflower on to boil, check email. Grind the flour for my batter, reboot laundry. And so on. And so on. That's the trick. Nice and easy.
Cut the leaves off the cauliflower and cut off the florets in baby-fist size chunks. If they're thick just cut in half. Boil your veg in lightly salted water. When your cauliflower is cooked al dente, not too mushy, drain and cool a bit. Mix up some batter. Flour, an egg, pinch salt, and milk to arrive at a pancake-batter consistency. I start with 2 cups of flour and two eggs because we never do fewer than two cauliflowers. Yes it's that good... You can always make more if you run out of batter.
Heat a little oil in a skillet. I use safflower or sunflower oil. No gmo. And using fresh ground grain, the batter doesn't absorb oil much. Ok so heat the oil on med-hi till ready. Salt your oil as if you were salting the food. Salt the oil? Yes. You'll be glad you did. It melts the salt and perfectly covers each square centimeter of fried creamy goodness. Now prep a plate with paper towels for your yummy treasures.
A few clumps of cauliflower at a time, put in the batter, roll over to cover, and lay in the skillet. Cook till golden and turn, mashing a little with a spatula to make it flatter. By the time you turn it, the al dente cauliflower will have softened and it'll turn into perfect 1" thick patties. It'll be a chunk of creamy crisp veggie when done.
They're good hot, warm, or cold the next day.
One more little trick? Sure thing. All those bits of cauliflower left in the bottom of the batter? Just scoop them up with a big spoon and fry them too... Certain persons who will remain nameless prefer those last bits to the nice big chunks of cauliflower! Never waste. and after that? Add more flour to your leftover batter, make it nice and thick, add some parmesan and fry that too. It's a fry fest.
So slow down a little. Take an afternoon to play in the kitchen. Try a dish that takes a little longer but spread it out over a day. It's worth it.
Ingredient list
1-2 cauliflowers
flour
a few eggs
salt
milk
oil
Gadget list:
a skillet
a bowl
a spoon
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