“We all are Citizens of the World. What’s good for you, must be good for all. If you are lost, share a plate of food with a stranger… you will find who you are.”
— Chef José Andrés
Need a hero?
How about considering Jose Andres?
His work with his non-profit World Central Kitchen is the real stuff of heroism.
With World Central Kitchen, Andres has built a charity organization (rated the maximum four stars by Charity Navigator, by the way) that feeds people in crisis all over the world–sometimes in very dangerous locales. From Gaza to Spokane, WCK is there. They were even in my community this year when we had a toxic leak that disrupted lives and communities. The goal of the organization is to provide locally-cooked dishes specific to the region for people displaced by war and catastrophes of all kinds.
So, I send him contributions for WCK’s work. I buy his cookbooks, too. Zaytinya. The World Central Kitchen Cookbook, and Vegetables Unleashed are among the titles on my shelves. They are excellent cookbooks. If you collect cookbooks, you might consider them. They are available through your local bookstore, through Thrift Books and on Amazon. Andres, by the way, has a collection of about 1500 rare cookbooks and culinary manuscripts including a rents and receipts book belonging to Thomas Jefferson’s chef, Honore Julien, a 1631 Spanish cookbook Arte de Cozina discussing royal court dining and the use of new foods from the New World, and a prized 1931 first edition of The Joy of Cooking. Andres says The Joy of Cooking volume, in particular, is a prized possession. He used it, he says, when he immigrated to the United States from Spain in 1991 to learn about the spirit of America and American cooking.
Andres is Spanish born. He is yet another American immigrant success story, immigrating here in 1991. Andres’ accomplishments and accolades are myriad. He has won several James Beard Awards and is the winner of a National Humanities Medal. He served as co-chair of the U.S. Presidential Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition. He holds honary doctorates from Harvard and Tufts and founded the Global Food Institute at George Washington University.
This Cauliflower Gratin recipe is from Vegetables Unleashed. In the introduction to the recipe, Andres pays homage to his mother’s cooking, particularly her understanding of how to turn cauliflower into a sweet and tender dish covered with bechamel sauce and cheese, a dish he says remains one of his favorite dishes to serve his family on a cold autumn or winter’s night.
Here is the recipe as I prepared it in my kitchen. You’ll thank Andres and his mom when you taste this creamy, rich and comfrorting dish.
Cauliflower With Bechamel
Ingredients
- For the Caramelized Onion
- 1 T. butter
- 1 T. extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large onion (halved lengthwise and sliced thin)
- For the Bechamel Sauce
- 2 T. butter
- 1 T. olive oil
- 1/4 C. all-purpose flour
- 3 C. whole milk
- Kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper
- For the Dish
- 1 large head of cauliflower (cored and cut into florets)
- Kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper
- 6 ounces Gruyere cheese (shredded)
Directions
- Step 1 To caramelize the oniion, melt the butter with the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the thinly-sliced onion. Turn the heat down to low and saute the onion until it is a pretty golden brown This should take about 30 minutes.Remove from heat and set aside.
- Step 2 Melt the butter and olive oil for the bechamel sauce in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk until it is golden brown and bubbling. Add half the milk slowly to the flour mixture whisking carefully to avoid lumps. Add the other half of the milk.
- Step 3 Bring the milk and flour mixture to a boil and whisk constantly until you have a thick and smooth sauce that has lost its floury taste. This will take about 5 miniutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Step 4 To steam the cauliflower, put about 1/2 an inch of water in a large pot and bring it to a boil. Add the cauliflower florets and some salt. Cover the pan with a lid and steam until the cauliflower is just tender. This will take about 5 minutes. Drain and cool the caulifower in a collander. Season it with salt and pepper.
- Step 5 Preheat your broiler.
- Step 6 Gently reheat the bechamel using a whisk to stir the mixture back into a pourable consistency.
- Step 7 Grease a large baking dish or a large cast-iron skillet. Spread the caramelized onions in the bottom of the dish. Put the cauliflower florets on top of the onions. Spoon the bechamel on top of the cauliflower florets. Sprinkle the shredded gruyere on top of the bechamel.
- Step 8 Put the prepared Cauliflower Gratin under your broiler about 10 inches under the heating element. Broil until the Cauliflower Gratin’s bechamel is bubly and the top of the dish is turning a golden brown. (Watch your dish while it is under the broiler to make sure it doesn’t burn. My gratin was ready after about y or 7 minutes.) Serve hot.
