Cauliflower Stroganoff

A mainstay recipe of mine for years was beef stroganoff. Then along came mad cow disease and marriage to a vegetarian – not necessarily in that order and less certainly linked – and I had to come up with an alternative to my beloved beef. Enter the versatile cauliflower. 

I found, almost by accident one day, that if you dry fry sliced cauliflower in a thick-bottomed pan with only enough butter so that it doesn’t burn, it turns into a wonderful, crunchy vegetable. Brown with flavor on the outside and still crisp inside, it goes well with all the other components of a stroganoff. 

So here you go: my vegetarian stroganoff. Hearty, easy to make and sure to spread the winter warmth, it’s on the menu tonight at Chez Bullhog. And if you’re wondering where the other 1/3 can of mushroom soup goes, I’ll be cooking up some ground organic beef on the side for my 12-year-old meatatarian. 

One photographic note: to get the photo below, I used hardly any sauce. Your dish will be saucier and not all that photogenic. But man will it taste great! 

Cauliflower Stroganoff

 Makes 4 servings

2 pounds cauliflower with leaves

12 ounces mushrooms, sliced

12 ounces sweet onions, chopped

2 tablespoons butter

2/3 cup hot water

2/3 can Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 cup Lite sour cream

Lots and lots of freshly ground pepper

16 ounces curly noodles (I use no-yolk egg noodles) 

Fry the cauliflower: Core the cauliflower, remove the thickest leaf bases, cut the head into quarters, and slice lengthwise into quarter inch thick pieces. Heat a wide sauté pan until almost smoking, put a half tablespoon of butter into it and toss in half the cauliflower. Fry quickly, turning the pieces so that all pieces comes in contact with the heat for at least a minute. Sprinkle with several grinds of black pepper and remove to a bowl. Deglaze  pan with a little hot water and  repeat the frying for the other half of the cauliflower. Set aside when browned but not cooked through. 

I've made cream sauces for this recipe, but this tastes best!

Fry the onions and mushrooms: Bring the sauté pan back up to medium heat and sauté the onions in a tablespoon of butter until translucent, about 5 minutes. Lower the heat and toss in the sliced mushrooms. Grind some black pepper over the mushrooms. Cover and let cook for 3 minutes, stirring once. 

Cook the noodles: Bring a large pot of water to the boil, and cook the noodles until al dente, according to directions. Do not overcook. 

Make the sauce: While the noodles are cooking and once the mushrooms have cooked through, add the mushroom soup base to the pan (in with the onion and mushroom). Once the soup base is bubbling, add the hot water and gently stir. When the sauce is totally free of lumps and is simmering away, add the cauliflower back to the pan. Grind more black pepper over the veggies. Add salt only if necessary, as the soup base is rather salty. 

Assemble the dish: When the noodles are cooked, set them aside to drain in a colander. Put the sour cream in with the cauliflower and stir gently to incorporate. Raise the heat if necessary, so that the whole pan comes back up to a simmer in a minute or two. Put the noodles into a serving bowl, pour the sauce over top, and serve steaming hot. Mm, mmm. Good!