Last night I made my Cauliflower Shepard's Pie, which proved very successful. In the end, I ended up only using cauliflower puree for the crust, no potatoes. For the meat filling I sauteed ground veal, leeks, shiitake mushroom and baby portabella mushrooms. Like the Michael Chiarello recipe I mentioned before, I added chopped thyme, parsley, flour (tablespoon), tomato paste (tablespoon) and cinnamon (only a teaspoon and a half). As the filling cooked, I added a cup of white wine and about a cup and a half of chicken stock (unlike the red wine and beef stock Michael Chiarello calls for -- I thought the white wine/chicken stock combination would be lighter and more suited to veal). I simmered it all down for about a half hour. After all done, I lined the bottom of a pan with the filling, then layered the cauliflower puree on the top as the "crust." I used two heads of cauliflower -- steamed the florets until very very tender, then pureed it in the blender with a dash of olive oil. I sprinkled a thin layer of parmesan cheese on the top, then baked it until golden.
We had some leftovers for lunch today and I must say, it's even better the next day. The shape comes together more as it's had time to settle. Substituting cauliflower for potatoes worked wonderfully -- very flavorful, creamy in texture, but not stodgy.
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