White, purple green, yellow: Cauliflower and cremini side dish

Years ago, when Annalena was still a bambina, she would watch "The Ed Sullivan Show" with her family every week.  That show tried to showcase the famous, both in the US and the world.  One episode featured a folk band from Japan (Annalena remembers their name not). They were wearing very odd, almost "mickey mouse club" leotards,  black, and singing a song with the refrain "white, black,pink YELLOW - you're everybody."  Presumably, it was a song about world peace and how we are all one.   Whatever. (Annalena could not find a youtube of this mess).

Well,  Annalena thought of that song when considering this recipe (don't ever try to figure out the workings of Annalena's mind.  It's a very dangerous path.  She pays someone very well to do this).    She thought of it because when she made this recipe, she used green cauliflower - sometimes called broccoflower.  There is white cauliflower, which we all know, and the green one, and a purple one, and a yellow one.  Annalena uses the yellow one a lot because it fools people - including herself - into thinking there's butter in it.  She cannot quite get herself to try the purple variety.  It just seems, well, WRONG.    But any of these would work with this dish.

It's also a good way to get people who won't try cauliflower, to try it (and you know  who you are).  And as this stuff is in season now,  and you're probably looking for side dishes for your Thanksgiving extravaganza, well...

Let's go with this one now.  There's a bit of  prep work, but it's really good.  REALLY good.

First, let's measure out the easy stuff.  Get some small containers and measure out, separately, a tablespoon of sherry vinegar (cheap balsamic if you don't have the sherry), a tablespoon of maple syrup (Annalena uses grade B, and DON'T substitute pancake syrup, which you should banish from your home),  and the juice of half of a lemon.  Also, pour out 1/4 cup (that's four tablespoons), of extra virgin olive oil.

To the hard part.  Get a medium sized cauliflower of any color, and start breaking up the florets, until you get 5-6 cups of them.  A standard cauliflower should get you this.  Then slice up 3/4 pounds of cremini mushroom heads  (save the stems to make broth to use in your rice or soup).  No misprint here, ragazzi, peel ten (10) cloves of garlic, and half them.  That's probably 2-3 bulbs.  You also need a couple of sprigs of rosemary, and  have your salt handy.

Now, let's cook.  Mix together the vinegar, syrup and lemon (ok, Annalena mislead you.  You can start by doing this.  No need for three bowls).    Get your biggest nonstick pan out, and add the olive oil at medium heat.  When it's warm, add the cauliflower, the mushrooms, the garlic, and the rosemary.  Add a teaspoon of salt, stir them to coat with oil, and then cover the pan.  Leave it just slightly ajar, and every now and then, stir it.  What you're doing is essentially "oil steaming," which is an Asian technique.  You'll hear the veggies cooking and they'll be softening all the while.  Including the garlic, which is a GOOD thing.

After ten minutes, take the lid off, try to get everything in one layer, and lower the heat to a barely flickering flame (pretty phrase, huh), and don't move things.    Cook another 8 minutes or so, and check for browning.  If you don't have it after 8, be patient and check every two minutes.

Now, get the pan off the heat, and stir in that liquid mixture.  Taste it and add more salt, and more lemon if you like.

And know what? You've got a VERY tasty, VERY healthy side dish, that will serve 4-6 of  you.  Annalena really, REALLY liked this dish. And she's sending it to her cauliflower hating cousin, with instructions to EAT IT!  (Because she's sending it to his cauliflower loving wife, too).