Back to Food

Spinach-Cauliflower-Peanut

27 May 2004

I need a better name for this. It's steamed cauliflower on wilted greens with a peanut sauce.

Bridget and I came home and there was no food in the house, so I made this out of what was left over from the Farmer's Market six days ago.

Start by putting on a pot of water to boil for the cauliflower.

Start with the sauce: chop up an onion and a few cloves of garlic and a peeled piece of fresh ginger as big as your thumb, and throw it in hot wok or skillet with some peanut oil in it. When the onion's soft, about ten minutes, add chopped scallions, and whatever Asian cooking sauces you've got around: I used mirin, rice vinegar, soy sauce, fish sauce and a dollop of miso. Worse case scenario, throw in some wine, some vinegar and some soy sauce. Then add a cup and a half or so of roughly ground-up cashews or peanuts and about three tablespoons of peanut butter, and a handful of chili flakes. Mix well, and add about half a cup to a cup of water, just enough so it's saucy.

While those onions are cooking, wash the cauliflower and cut into florets. You know, chop up the cauliflower. Throw it in the boiling water, or just steam it -- a few minutes, either way. You want it still just slightly crunchy.

Instead of just spinach, I used a mixture of spinach, red lettuce and one of those dark greens. Something like kale, but different. It was cheap at the Farmer's Market, anyway. In a separate pot, boil about 1/2" of water; when it's boiling, throw in the washed greens for about a minute, with the lid on, tossing occasionally.

Put greens on the plate first; put cauliflower on top, and cover in sauce. Excellent eating.