Getting jiggy with cauliflower

Behold the Parmesan-crusted, truffle-hit head of cauliflower – elegant in its simplicity, daring in its wholeness.

Seriously, when’s the last time you saw a cauliflower presented as an entire head? For me, it was a few years back, at Dymond Lake Lodge when I was out in Manitoba searching for polar bears and building igloos.

I had never seen one before, and haven’t since.

I’ve made some changes to the lodge’s simply perfect cauliflower recipe, including adding a kick of Dijon and a drizzle of truffle oil, but even without the truffle it’s smack-your-mama good*.

On a side note, I'm blogging from the Vancouver Winter Olympics for Food & Wine magazine. Check out the fun and tasty times here.

*(Or rather, just about as good as a head of cauliflower can be. And please don’t smack your mother.)

CHI-CHI CAULIFLOWER

(serves 4-6)

Ingredients:

1 head cauliflower, leaves and bottom core carefully removed so head remains intact

¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan

¼ cup mayonnaise

2 tsp Dijon

fresh cracked pepper

drizzle of truffle oil (optional)

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place prepped cauliflower in a microwavable bowl with a bit of water in the bottom and cook (steam) on high until it’s al dente (about 7 minutes.)

Mix together Parmesan, mayo, Dijon and pepper.

Remove head of cauliflower from microwave dish, drain of excess water, then place on a foil-lined baking sheet. Spread with cheese mixture and bake for 15 minutes, then broil for a minute at the end so it gets slightly browned.

Drizzle with truffle oil and present it whole. Eager eaters can just spoon out their portion.