A little mixing of culture: creme fraiche curry with cauliflower

Well, Annalena had a very uneventful weekend, notwithstanding the marriages that took place. Many years ago, when Annalena was a young law student, she proposed an article to her law review editor entitled "is there a right to same sex marriage?" Said editor laughed at Annalena and said "Here's the answer. No. Now write something about the Haitians," because the Haitian boat people were the current crisis in our time. Thirty years later, Annalena gets to say NYAHHH.

Ok, now I shall step off of my soapbox, and turn to recipes and cooking. And, today, we are going to look at something that you would not associate with summer cooking: cauliflower. You should.

Here is the deal, ragazzi. You know those big, beautiful, huge heads of cauliflower we get in the fall? Well, they only happen if the farmers go out and assiduously cut back the seedlings in their fields. For a large plant to grow, it needs room. And that means the surrounding, smaller ones, have to go. This principle has many applications. It's why we get squash blossoms to fry, and why we get Chinese baby corn (here, the farmer is taking items off of one plant, so that the remaining items can grow big and strong. In other cases, like peashoots, or the cauliflower mentioned above, the fields are "thinned" or gleaned. Now, as a farmer, you can compost them, or you can feed them to animals.

Or, you can invent "mini cauliflower" and so forth, and sell the minivegetables at a premium to consumers. Don't ever say that farmers are dumb.

When you buy the vegetables you associate with autumn in the summer, you will find that they have a very different flavor. The sulfurs of these cruciferous vegetables (like cabbage, and cauliflower), have not yet had a chance to develop, so the vegetables are sweeter. And, be honest. It's nice to be able to break up a routine with something that you like, but is officially "out of season," once in a while.

So, Annalena saw these wonderful baby yellow cauliflowers, and brought home a pound of them. For me, curry is a natural partner for cauliflower in the way tomatoes and eggplant go together. So, curry was on the menu, but I wanted something different.

ATtentive readers will recall my foray into Thai curry with coconut milk and curry paste. I wanted something similar, but not exactly, and that is how this dish was born.

Bottled curry paste is something that I use because, while I COULD make it, it is so time consuming that the difference in quality is just not worth it to me. I bring this up because the discussion point has come up now, and as I spoke quite strongly in favor of heirloom beans, I speak equally strongly in favor of these sauces. If you are inclined to make your own curry paste, by all means do so, let me know and if you want to sell me some, I will open my purse. For now, though, I use them.

I used green curry paste here, because I find it both fruity and spicy. Yellow curry would have worked, but I think red would have struck the wrong note. Try what you like, see how it works, and let us all know. Ultimately, the most important part of this recipe, is the cooking of the cauliflower.

If you don't have baby cauliflower, use the full sized monsters, and cut them into florets. That's about the size you're looking for, even with the baby ones. That will be one, maybe two cuts, or halving or quartering the babies. Whatever your cauliflower source, get them into rapidly boiling salted water, and cook them to "al dente." For vegetables, especially for cauliflower, this means you want them to be harder than you would like if you were eating them right out of the pot. Drain them, and get a grill pan, or frying pan good and hot, with a thin layer of vegetable oil on it.

When the oil is almost smoking, add the vegetables, cut side down. Be patient, and let them cook until they char. You can do this for another side, or all sides, of the vegetables if you like. While that's happening, get about a quarter cup of creme fraiche (more on this below), and a couple tablespoons of the curry paste and mix it together. Taste it. Is it too your liking? Not strong enough? Add more curry. Too strong? Add more creme fraiche. When you have it where you want it, put it in a bowl, toss in the vegetables, and toss them all around.

If you are a vegetarian, you have close to a complete meal, with a nice bowl of rice and perhaps some lentils. Or, as with us, you have a side dish to a plate of lamb. You will figure out how to serve it, now that you know how to make it, and make it you should.

On Creme fraiche: yes, Annalena does make this herself. Here's how you do it: get a pint of heavy cream, and make sure it's not ultrapasteurized. Mix it with two heaping tablespoons of yogurt, in a large jar. Shake it, and put it on a tabletop, unrefrigerated, for at least 48 hours. The longer you leave it out, the tarter it will be.

To me, this is worth the "effort," and the creme fraiche is superior. But if you don't want to do it, there are many reputable suppliers of good quality creme fraiche. Buy the best, and make yourself a little curry today.