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Cauliflower Roumanian
1 tablespoon shortening 1 minced onion 2 cups water 1 cauliflower 1/2 teaspoon salt pepper 2 diced ripe tomatoes 1/4 cup rice Brown onion in shortening, add cauliflower broken into flowers and cook in the water. Add seasonings and tomatoes. When half done, add the rice and continue cooking until rice is tender. Serves 6.
A one-pot vegetable braise in which the rice thickens the tomato liquid into a light sauce. It works best treated as a stovetop pilaf rather than a soup.
- The hinge: liquid and riceTwo cups of water for 1/4 cup rice plus a whole cauliflower is enough only if the pan is covered and the heat kept low. Uncovered at a hard boil the water will be gone before the rice softens; add hot water a few tablespoons at a time if it dries out.
- ShorteningIn the period this means solid vegetable shortening or rendered fat. A tablespoon of neutral oil or olive oil behaves the same way and arguably tastes better; butter also works, if dietary custom in your kitchen allows it alongside the rest of the meal.
- "When half done"Judge the cauliflower, not the clock. Florets simmer for roughly 12-15 minutes before they take a knife tip with slight resistance; that is the moment the rice goes in, and it needs a further 15-18 minutes for white long-grain.
- Cauliflower sizeAn unqualified "1 cauliflower" in older recipes generally implies a modest head, perhaps 1 1/2 to 2 lb trimmed, giving something like 6 cups of florets. A modern supermarket head is often larger, so scale the water and rice up if yours is.
- TomatoesTwo diced ripe tomatoes is somewhere around 10 to 12 oz. Out of season, canned tomatoes drained and chopped will do; you will need most of a 28 oz can to match the weight. Add them with the seasoning as directed rather than at the start, so their acid does not slow the cauliflower from softening.
- SeasoningHalf a teaspoon of salt is modest for six servings of vegetables and rice; taste and correct at the end. Paprika, a bay leaf or chopped dill are all in keeping with the style.
- Rice typeUse plain long-grain or medium-grain white rice. Parboiled or instant rice will not absorb the tomato liquid the same way, and brown rice needs far longer than the cauliflower can stand.
- ServingSix portions as a side dish, or four as a light main with bread. It reheats well and is often better the next day, though the cauliflower softens further.