Cauliflower; sure, you’ve seen it served on vegetable platers, in salads, side dishes, and soups, but have you ever thought of it as a main dish? That’s right, in our home, we don’t just like cauliflower, we eat it by the plateful! You’re probably wondering how cauliflower alone could sustain a person from one meal to the next.
The secret is the amount of olive oil used in the cooking. It adds the necessary calories and combined with the tomato and onion, creates a wonderful sauce that you can enjoy with a slice or two of bread. Of course, if you want to prepare this dish as a side to accompany some grilled meat or use it to top rice or pasta, all of these combinations will be delicious as well.
Ingredients
- 1 large cauliflower
- 1 medium onion
- 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cups water
- 3 teaspoons tomato paste
- 1 bay leaf
- 1.25 teaspoon salt
Preparation
- Wash the cauliflower, cut the stem, and separate into large pieces (ideally 4). Separating by hand instead of using a knife will help keep the cauliflower florets intact
- Peel and chop the onion
- Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan
- Place the cauliflower and onion in the pan and heat over medium heat
- Brown the cauliflower on all sides, occasionally stirring the onion to keep it from burning. One way to prevent the onion from over-caramelizing is to first brown the cauliflower for 5 minutes before adding the onion to the pan
- Once the cauliflower has lightly browned on all sides, add the water, tomato paste, salt, and bay leaf
- Cover and simmer over medium low heat until the cauliflower has softened. While the cauliflower is simmering, limit stirring to once or twice. The cauliflower florets will become quite delicate as they soften and break apart if over-stirred
- If you wish to thicken the tomato sauce, bring to a boil and cook uncovered for a few minutes
