In celebration of National Women’s Month, I figured I’d highlight the OG’s (original grandmas) of popularized cooking. Popularized cooking? I said what I said. We all grew up, hopefully, getting fed by a parent or other parental figure. If you’re my age and older, chances are this was your mother, aunt, sister, or grandmother. Women have held families together by saving money making struggle meals, ensuring their children are nourished to the best of their ability, instilling a sense of creativity in their children by taking risks on a new recipe, or just ensuring the family comes together at the table to eat a meal and keep the lines of communication open. It’s not an easy feat. It became even harder when women started expanding their rightfully equal societal role into the workplace. However, it was rare that they also were able to shirk some of their domestic burdens onto someone else.
Today’s OG is a true nonna: the imitable Lidia Bastianich. Does she sound familiar? You should (hopefully) know who she is; that lovable maternal figure on PBS who cooks some great family-style Italian dishes. If you hadn’t heard of her before, maybe the name kind of rings a bell from when I made 2 of her dishes, Friuli Gnocchi and Erbazzone in my Culinary Ridealong Series for the 2020 Giro d’Italia. The 2021 Giro is right around the corner and I can’t wait to dive back into Italian cuisine again on a daily basis for a few weeks.
What’s great about Lidia is she takes seemingly simple ingredients and really makes them sing. One of my girls’ favorite recipes of hers is where you transform 2 leftover items (celery and broken lasagna pasta sheets) and mix them with some canned tomatoes and bacon for a lovely quick weeknight meal. Also, many of her recipes feature pepper flakes for a nice, light-but-spicy kiss in the mouth. So, it’s a no-brainer she’d be able to transform cauliflower into a tasty side dish. How good are these veggies? They’re kid-approved! So, grill some chicken and slice it up next to heaping spoonfuls of this lovely roasted cauliflower.
Cauliflower with Olives & Cherry Tomatoes adapted from Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy, Lidia Bastianich
Cauliflower head, large (2-2.5 lbs)
Onion, medium
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 large garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
Kosher salt
1/4 tsp chili flakes
1.5 cups cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup pitted black olives
Tear of the leaves of the cauliflower. Discard the thick outer leaves and stems, but reserve any younger, tender leaves. Cut out the root and break-up or cut large florets, about 1.5-2”.
Slice the onion in half (pole-to-pole). Peel, and leaving the root end in-tact, slice the onion into 8-equal slices.
In a large skillet, heat the oil and garlic cloves over medium heat. When the garlic begins to sizzle, toss in the cauliflower and fit the onion in the gaps. Season with some salt and the chili flakes. Cover and reduce the heat to medium-low.
Meanwhile, thinly slice the reserved tender cauliflower leaves. Reserve.
After 20 minutes, uncover the pan and continue cooking the cauliflower until it begins to caramelize, about 10 minutes.
Flip the vegetables to begin browning on the other side and drop in the tomatoes and olives. Shake the pan to get everything evened out. Sprinkle on the reserved, sliced cauliflower leaves. Cover and cook until the tomatoes release their juice, about 7 minutes.
Remove the cover and increase the heat to medium-high to reduce and thicken any juices in the pan. Serve.
___________________________________ Copyright 2021, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.
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