March 2023: Cauliflower with wild garlic salsa verde

Ingredients

serves 2

a medium cauliflower

1.5 tbs odourless coconut oil, melted

1/2 tsp paprika (optional)

Wild garlic salsa verde:

1 generous handful of wild garlic

2 tbs capers

6 tbs extra virgin olive oil

2 tbs fresh lemon juice

Sea salt & back pepper to taste

Method:

Chop the wild garlic and capers thinly and place into a bowl. Stir in the lemon juice and olive oil. Season with sea salt and black pepper and mix well. Taste and adjust seasoning. Set aside.

Break the cauliflower into small florets and coat with the oil and paprika if using. Place a frying pan over high heat and add the cauliflower florets. Fry until they start to brown. Colour on both sides. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for 10 minutes until softer. The cauliflower will steam a little and cook through but you want a bite to remain. To serve, place the wild garlic salsa verde on a plate, top with the cauliflower and sprinkle with flaked sea salt. I love serving this with du Puy lentils or black quinoa for a complete meal.

Stéphanie's Tips:

You can make a big jar of salsa verde, it will keep in a glass jar in the fridge for 5 days and freeze well too. Just add some olive oil on top to prevent it from browning. Serve it with other fried or roasted vegetables (beetroot, celeriac, potatoes are all great veg) and it also makes a great dip for a nice slice of sourdough baguette!

Stéphanie's recipe reflections:

The one food that marks the start of Spring is wild garlic, the first treat that I love to forage for and bring into the kitchen. Although I first discovered it while living in England (it somehow wasn’t too much of a thing where I grew up in Auch), it also grows in France including in and around Manoir Mouret. It’s a very pungent, aromatic and beautiful vegetable and I love how it pairs so well with cauliflower in this dish.

Frying the cauliflower allows it to keep its shape, and colour it just enough to get some depth of flavour. Cauliflower loves bold flavours and the wild garlic salsa verde offers a delicious pairing. Wild garlic is unmistakable, its smell is so strong and intoxicating. Belonging to the allium family (garlic, onion, leek) it does have some great health benefits: it contains quercetin, an anti-inflammatory and powerful antioxidant which also helps with allergies - great at this time of year when hay-fever starts creeping up!

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