I love cauliflower, but I know not everyone shares my passion for this nutritious but sometimes bland vegetable. This recipe shows that the right cooking method and complementary ingredients can make a cauliflower dish that can steal the show. As is my way with most vegetables, I skillet-cook the cauliflower—slowly sautéing it with little or no added moisture. That way, more of the essential vegetable flavor is retained and intensified, adding layers of caramelization. Here, too, the companion vegetables enhance the cauliflower, with olives lending earthy complexity, and cherry tomatoes giving acidity and freshness. This can be made in advance and reheated. And if you happen to have some left over, it can be the base for a great risotto, or for dressing a plate of pasta for two.

　　

Ingredients

serves 6

　　1 large cauliflower (about 2 1/2 pounds)

　　1 medium onion

　　1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

　　4 plump garlic cloves, crushed and peeled

　　2 teaspoons kosher salt

　　1/4 teaspoon peperoncino flakes, or to taste

　　1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes

　　1/2 cup pitted black Italian olives, such as Gaeta or taggiasca

　　

RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT

A heavy-bottomed skillet or sauté pan, 12-inch diameter or larger, with a tight-fitting cover

　　

Step 1

Tear off the tough outer leaves at the base of the cauliflower, and cut out the tough core. Cut the branches into small florets (about 1 inch), and cut any small tender leaves into pieces. Peel the onion and, without trimming away the root end, slice it into eight thin wedges. The onion layers should still be attached at the root end, so each wedge remains intact.

　　

Step 2

Pour the olive oil into the skillet, set it over medium heat, and toss in the garlic cloves. When they start to sizzle, strew the cauliflower over the pan bottom, and drop in the onion pieces here and there. Season with the salt and peperoncino, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cover the pan. Let the vegetables cook without stirring for 20 minutes or so, softening in their own juices, until the florets and wedges begin to take on color on the bottom. If the pieces are soft but not caramelizing, uncover the pan, raise the heat a bit, and cook a few minutes longer.

　　

Step 3

When the vegetable pieces are caramelized on one side, gently tumble them over. Scatter the cherry tomatoes and olives in the pan, stir gently to distribute them, then cover and cook until the tomatoes release their juices, about 5 minutes.

　　

Step 4

Finally, remove the cover, raise the heat, and bring the pan juices to a boil. Cook until the juices are syrupy and the vegetables are caramelized all over, another 5 to 10 minutes. Heap on a platter or in a casserole dish; serve warm or at room temperature.

　　Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and Tanya Bastianich Manuali. Copyright © 2009 Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and Tanya Bastianich Manuali. Published by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved.Lidia Mattichio Bastianich is the author of four previous books, three of them accompanied by nationally syndicated public television series. She is the owner of the New York City restaurant Felidia (among others), and she lectures on and demonstrates Italian cooking throughout the country. She lives on Long Island, New York.Tanya Bastianich Manuali, Lidia’s daughter, received her Ph.D. in Renaissance history from Oxford University. Since 1996 she has led food/wine/art tours. She lives with her husband and children on Long Island.