I am tempted to call this Cavolfiore alla Parmigiana - a variation on a theme - although my Google search brings up Italian-based website recipes all of which include tomato. This is "plain" - no sauce.
Alla Parmigiana, to my mind means the egg-dipped breaded, fried (or baked or sauteed) vegetable (eggplant) or meat (veal, chicken, even pork cutlets) with parmesan cheese sprinkled on top - whether or not it gets baked again in a casserole with tomato sauce and more cheese.
I've done this before, (Cavolfiore alla Nonna) but this version is prepped a little differently. The pieces are easier to bread and fry when sliced like this and they look nice on the plate.
Take a head of cauliflower and put it whole into a deep sauce pan with a little water on the bottom and steam it for about 4 or 5 minutes until just barely cooked, not too tender.
Remove the whole cauliflower and slice it into slices not much thicker than 1/2 inch. These hold together fairly well. If pieces break off, no problem, just proceed with dipping, breading and frying the smaller ones as with the larger pieces.
Dip the slices in beaten egg, dredge in flavored bread crumbs and fry in olive oil (or place on a cookie sheet sprayed with oil, and bake at 375 in the oven) until the slices are golden brown; if frying, turn to brown on both sides.
This method will soak up a fair amount of oil; baking will use a minimal amount of oil.
Remove from pan or oven and sprinkle with grated parmesan (Parmigiano Reggiano) cheese.
This makes a great antipasto or contorni. Can be served at room temperature. We had it tonight along with a bought roasted chicken from the market. (At $3.99 on sale for an already cooked whole chicken, who can go wrong?)
Leon made a pineapple upside down cake for dessert.
Dinner's Ready!
Buon Appetito!
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