CAULIFLOWER

AS A CULINARY STUDENT in France, I fell in love with the classic cauliflower creamed soup called crème du Barry and all sorts of creamy, cheesy cauliflower preparations. I still love my grandmother’s flavorful fried cauliflower, too, but the world doesn’t really need another recipe for those dishes. Meanwhile, I’ve grown fonder of lighter preparations and faster cooking times, like briefly sautéing cauliflower in olive oil and adding it to beans and grains for deeper flavor. Cauliflower, these days, comes in an amazing array of colors: purple, orange, and green, as well as white; the flavors are similar, and they’re all equally nutritious.

Historically, cauliflower was one of the cash crops of Long Island that, with potatoes and broccoli, fed New York City. It was shipped on a specially built railroad line called the Scoot. Today, in the spirit of eating ingredients from our area, I’ve become fascinated by this hearty vegetable. I even served a slab of cauliflower as a “steak” at Gramercy Tavern. Another idea came from the early days of Ferran Adrià at El Bulli in Spain. He would finely grate the tips of cauliflower florets to the consistency of couscous. Now used worldwide, this is a delicious and practical way to use cauliflower, especially at home.