This month,we decided to step into the kitchen and test our November recipe for what is arguably one of the healthiest steaks around, Sam’s Social Club’s Cauliflower Steak.
Our Tips
• Everything you need you can find in most quality markets.
• Be sure to make a good list before you head to the store — there are a lot of ingredients.
• For the fermented chile, try Mother In Law’s Fermented Chile Sauce (sesame) which can be found at Whole Foods.
• The finished sauces are fantastic and you will have extra. They are great with almost anything, so be sure to save them.
• Deep frying an entire head of cauliflower can be hard for the home chef. Dan suggests breaking up the head into florets and roasting in a pan with olive oil for about 15 minutes on high heat.
• The dish takes a little while to make, try playing some good music as you work.
Recipe: Cauliflower Steak
Serves 2
Ingredients
1¼ cups cashews
1 bunch scallions
1 jalapeño
3½ whole peeled shallots
1½ cloves garlic
½ cup tahini
¼ cup sherry vinegar
1⅓ cups water
⅘ cup fermented chile
1 Meyer lemon, zested and juiced
½ cup canola oil
½ tablespoon salt
Cracked black pepper, to taste
Handful of chopped oil-cured olives
1 small tomato, diced
Handful of chopped parsley
Handful of puffed farro
½ head organic cauliflower
Espelette chile powder, to taste
Kosher salt to taste
Handful of fresh dill to taste
To Prepare
For Charred Cashew Puree
1 Soak cashews in water overnight.
2 Char scallions, jalapeño, 2 shallots and 1 clove of garlic.
3 Combine cashews, scallions, jalapeno, tahini, sherry vinegar, water, shallots and garlic, and blend until you have a smooth puree.
For Hot Pepper Vinaigrette
1 Microplane ½ clove of garlic.
2 Mince 1½ whole shallots.
3 Combine fermented chile, Meyer lemon, canola oil, salt, cracked pepper, microplaned garlic and minced shallots and mix well.
For Garnish
1 Combine olives, tomato, parsley and puffed farro and mix well.
For Cauliflower
1 Deep-fry cauliflower at 350°F until brown and crunchy.
2 Remove from oil, pat dry with paper towel, and season with Espelette chile powder and kosher salt.
To assemble
1 Warm plate. 2 Add a big smear of warm cashew puree across the plate. 3 Place the half-head of cauliflower in the center of plate. 4 Add a spoonful of the garnish to both sides of the cauliflower. 5 Top cauliflower with a couple spoonfuls of hot pepper vinaigrette and dill.
