Tag Archives: vegetarian

{recipe of the week} whole wheat linguine with cauliflower steaks & lemon herb yogurt.

i have to confess that i’ve probably only eaten cauliflower a handful of times in my life. i don’t particularly care for it raw like i do most other vegetables, and it was on the short list of vegetables that we just never ate in my house growing up. since brussels sprouts were also on this list and it turns out that they’re my favoritest food on the planet and i was deprived of them for nearly 23 years, i figured i’d probably grow to have a love affair with cauliflower too if i just gave it a chance.

if pinterest is any indication, i’m calling cauliflower as the next trendy vegetable in the coming seasons. i’ve been seeing tons of recipes using cauliflower in various ways: simple and roasted, as a gluten-free pizza crust, pureed and mixed with potatoes for a healthier side, and of course, “steaks.” i decided to give the steak idea a try this weekend and was pleasantly surprised by how good they turned out. these would work well with lots of different meals but i thought they were very well complimented with simple whole wheat pasta and a tangy lemon yogurt.

ingredients (serves 2):
-2 servings whole wheat linguine or other pasta (about 4oz)
-1 head of cauliflower (you won’t use the whole thing, but you’ll need a head of it so you can cut steaks from the center)
-2 cloves of garlic, minced
-olive oil
-salt and pepper
for the lemon herb yogurt:
-6 oz container of plain greek yogurt
-juice and zest of 1/2 lemon
-fresh or dried parsley to taste
-black pepper

directions: 
boil water and prepare pasta according to pasta instructions.

to make cauliflower steaks:
while your pasta is cooking, prepare your cauliflower steaks.  add olive oil to a skillet and let heat up for a few minutes, then add minced garlic. to make “steaks,” cut the end off of the cauliflower to expose the center, then cut 3/4″ pieces for each steak. if you’ve cut the right amount off the side, the steaks should stay together fairly well. cut the end pieces up into florets and save for another use. (here’s a great how-to video that can probably explain this better than i can)
place each steak in the heated skillet and cook until golden brown on the underside, about 5 minutes, then flip, cooking for another 5 minutes or until desired tenderness is reached. season with salt and pepper.

to make lemon herb yogurt:
combine 6 oz plain greek yogurt, zest and juice of 1/2 lemon, black pepper, and fresh or dried parsley (i used about 1 tbsp of dried). mix it up and that’s it!

to serve:
top each serving of linguine with one cauliflower steak and some of the garlic and olive oil from the skillet. top each steak with large dollop of yogurt sauce, and add salt and pepper to taste. enjoy!

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