Saturday, May 16: White Bean Picatta and Cauliflower Mash
White bean picatta! Canellini beans simmered in a buttery, lemony, white winey, capery sauce. I could drink that sauce it’s so good — YUM.
Now, potatoes are one of my favorite foods and I eat a LOT of them. But, I was out of them… and did have a cauliflower in the fridge… and there’s a garlicky cauli mash that Instagrammer @grossypelosi makes that looks insane. So I made that instead! And you know what? It was perfect. Matt said he never would have known it wasn’t potatoes if I didn’t tell him!
And finally on the side: my favorite mustardy roasted red cabbage, which we just ate straight out of the roasting dish. Great meal!
For the white bean picatta:
Heat a few TB olive oil in large skillet or sauté pan over medium-low heat. Melt in 2 TB butter. Add 1 minced shallot, 3 minced garlic cloves, and a pinch of salt; saute for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently. Next, add 2 cans drained white beans (rinsed just slightly; the starches will help thicken the sauce) and a pinch of salt. Stir and sauté a few minutes. Pour in 1/2 cup chicken broth (reserve another 1/2 cup or more to add based on how much simmers away and how saucy you want it — I ended up using the full second 1/2 cup, adding a splash at a time during cooking, for a total of 1 cup). Pour in about 1/2 cup white wine (I just poured from the bottle, so this is very approximate), with more reserved to add later as desired (I added a few more splashes). Let this mixture simmer on low for about 10-15 minutes, adding more broth/wine if it’s getting too thick, to keep a saucy consistency. Stir often to make sure it’s not sticking to pan. Finally, add a few TB drained capers (I used about half of one of those tiny bottles, but add as much as you like!) and the juice of 1/2 lemon to start (more to taste). Taste the sauce and adjust salt, lemon, wine, etc.
For the cauliflower mash:
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add in one head of cauliflower that you’ve roughly chopped into florets (no need to be perfect, as you’ll be mashing them later — but it’s best to aim for the same size so they cook evenly). Boil 5-10 minutes (depending on how large your florets are), or until tender and easily pierced with a fork or knife. Drain off water and add cauliflower to a large bowl. While the cauliflower is boiling, Heat up ~1/4 cup olive oil in a small skillet. Add in 2-5 smashed garlic cloves (depending on how garlicky you want it!) and a big pinch of red pepper flakes. Saute for a few minutes, or until the garlic is golden and the oil is infused. Add the oil and garlic to the bowl with the drained cauliflower, plus a big pinch of salt and black pepper. The original recipe by Instagrammer @grossypelosi suggests using an immersion blender to mash up the cauliflower right in the bowl, which I have never done before but looked genius — so I tried it! It worked so well to get the cauliflower mashed up but not pureed. Love it! Of course, you can also use a potato masher, fork, food processor, etc. Once it’s to your desired texture/smoothness, taste and adjust for salt/pepper/red pepper flakes.
For the roasted cabbage: See original post with recipe here.