Saturday morning at the farmer's market, I piled organic vegetable upon organic vegetable into my wicker basket with a genuine zest for life and good cooking that I was so sure would carry me through the week. Flash forward to early Monday evening. Under-caffeinated and stuck in rush hour traffic, I realized that I had a head of cauliflower, an unwashed bunch of romaine lettuce, onions, garlic and jalapenos in my fridge. That does not a dinner make — or so I thought.
With no energy to stop at the grocery store, I knew I had two choices: make due with what I had, or order in. With Google on my side, I found a recipe for roasted curried cauliflower. No blanching, no peeling, stir once or twice, done in 35 minutes—I hit the nail on the head.
And if you have a somewhat-extensive spice cabinet, a head of cauliflower and an onion, you don't have to go to the store, either. (This recipe is adapted from a recipe that appeared in Bon Appetit in September 2004.)
This article appears in Feb 10-16, 2010.