Something Different With Cauliflower

Pizza, pasta, burgers, salad, stew. Snore.

I needed to shake up dinnertime a bit.

Chorizo (the dry Spanish style) is one of may favorite ways to add unexpected flavor to otherwise everyday meals. I use it the way Southern cooks use slab bacon. Not exactly as the star but instead as a crucial supporting player. Tonight I sliced up chorizo and sautéed it (well the oil was actually pretty deep) in olive oil along with thinly sliced red onions and a couple minced cloves of garlic. I cooked the mixture just until the half-moon slices of chorizo were starting to color and the oil was taking on a reddish hue. Then I mixed in one drained can of garbanzo beans, a bit of dried oregano and a pinch of crushed red peppers. I gave everything a good stir and then poured the contents of the pan (oil and all) over cauliflower I had broken into florets and spread out on a baking dish. I tossed the cauliflower in the oil so everything on the baking pan was nicely coated and popped the tray into the oven for 25 minutes at 350º.

Our dinner was a tasty, assertive combination of flavors -- not quite Spanish and not quite california -- just right over steamed balsamic rice dusted with sweet Spanish paprika.