Cauliflower Puree

I had this wonderful cauliflower puree side dish at A Mano in Chicago the other day and it inspired me. I like cauliflower, but I must admit, I just don't cook it much! So, I decided to try and recreate, or at least model after, the recipe. I like to make things easy to cook and, since I am cooking for one, try to not make too much or else I'm turned off the food for a long long time thereafter. Oh, and I am asian, so don't be mad if measurements are approximate or to taste. :)

Let me know what you think if you try this!

CAULIFLOWER PUREE
What else you'll need: food processor.

Ingredients:
1 16 oz bag of frozen cauliflower
2-3 shallots ("clove")
chicken stock - not too much, maybe 1/4 cup?
1-2T sour cream
olive oil
salt to taste
garlic powder to taste
ground ginger to taste (optional, i only tried a dash or two 'cause I have it!)

Start a pot of water to boil. While the water is boiling, clean and cut your shallots - thick slices are fine as this will be cooked and pureed later! When you add the cauliflower to the boiling water, saute your shallots in olive oil. When this is done and the shallots are soft to browned, put this in the food processor. You can also start adding some salt, garlic powder, and chicken stock to the processor. When the cauliflower is done, add half the batch (try to drain as much of the water as possible) and start the processor! When it is coarsely pureed, stop, add some sour cream, chicken broth as needed, and the remainder of the cauliflower. Puree again and the consistency should start to come together as a thicker white puree. Open periodically to taste and add more of the spices, sour cream, and chicken stock (be careful about this one!) as needed. I waited until the end to add a little olive oil (maybe 1-2 T) as well as that dash of ground ginger.

Time to Cook: 10 min max.
Serves about 4-6 people


I gotta say, pretty good! I ate this with broiled Artic Char (lightly salted and peppered, broiled approximately 6-8 min, but just take a look, and use a fork to see if the inside is done!) and with a little Sweet Ginger Chili sauce (The Ginger People, available at Whole Paycheck) on top. Oh, and an Arugula salad with pecans, torta with Cranberries, and tomatoes.