Sweet Calabrian Chili Cauliflower

Inspired by the lunch special I ordered a few weeks ago at Sycamore Kitchen on La Brea in Los Angeles before going to a matinee showing of Stop! That! Train! Emboldened by the courageous acts of President Judy Gagwell depicted on screen in refusing to be derailed by self-doubt, I attempted to recreate the dish at home later that week.

All credit for the Calabrian chili glaze goes to Chef Joe Sasto as he shared on his YT channel for this ritzy mushroom dish. I've made just a few tiny adjustments to his glaze recipe to suit this cauliflower dish. Always enjoy seeing him on Food Network programs.

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Ingredients (in order of use):

1 head cauliflower broken down into medium-sized florets, stem and leafy parts removed (allow cauliflower to dry out a bit on a kitchen towel after washing)

Olive oil (enough in a bottle/canister for about 4-6 tbsp.)

Corn starch (enough in a canister/box for about 4-6 tbsp.)

Kosher salt & fresh cracked pepper

3 tbsp. unsalted butter

1 shallot minced

4-6 garlic gloves minced

1 or 2 tbsp. Calabrian chili paste/sauce, depending on your preference for spice level (find a jar of this around where the dried pasta, canned tomatoes, olives, etc. are stocked at your grocer)

1 tsp. jarred minced ginger (or 1/4 tsp. grated/minced fresh from a root)

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup honey (non-floral)

1 tbsp. yellow miso paste

1/4-1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1 cup sushi rice, for serving

Sliced shallots/green onions, for garnishing

Recipe:

1. * Preheat over to 425F or air fryer to 400F (super convention recommended if yours has that option).

2. * Rinse rice and cook.

3. * I'm thinking weeknight dinner here, so I recommend a low-fuss coating: Put about half the cauliflower florets in a big bowl and toss with 2 tbsp. corn starch + 2 tbsp. olive oil along with a big pinch of salt and a few cracks of black pepper. Continue adding florets and tossing w/ corn starch + olive oil in the bowl until all of the cauliflower is nicely coated, adding a little more salt & pepper at some point. Drizzle additional olive oil and keep tossing as needed to make sure all corn starch in the bowl is clinging to the cauliflower and is nowhere clumpy.

4. * Transfer coated florets to a sheet pan or air fryer basket and space them out on that surface as best as possible. Place cauliflower in the appliance for about 20-30 minutes. Flip florets over 1-2x during cooking for even browning. Florets will be golden tender in places and moderately crispy to the bite when finished.

5. * While the cauliflower roasts, make the chili glaze: Melt 3 tbsp. butter at med-low heat in a cast iron skillet or wide pan set over stovetop burner.

6. * When butter has melted and is bubbling gently, add minced shallot + garlic. Stir in the skillet for about 30-60 seconds until softened and fragrant, before browning starts. Add Calabrian chili paste and ginger to the skillet and stir in with aromatics for about 30-60 seconds until combined.

7. * Add honey and sugar to the skillet. Whisk the mixture in the skillet frequently for about 3-4 minutes, making sure to scrape down the sides as well. Mixture will begin to bubble; keep whisking until the mixture is thickened enough that it is starting to stick to whisk or spoon. Adjust heat as needed--dial up to medium if reduction process is going slowly, but turn back down to med-low once at the right consistency.

8. * While whisking inside the skillet continuously, drizzle in the 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar to deglaze the skillet (heads up, your eyeballs are gonna get a lil' twinge as the vinegar evaporates). Whisk in yellow miso paste. Continue whisking until the glaze is syrupy but not too tight. Whisk in additional red wine vinegar if the glaze seems too thick suddenly. If too loose, whisk in a teaspoon of corn starch for about 30 seconds (if still loose, add additional starch).

9. * Turn burner to low heat. Dump cauliflower from sheet pan/basket into skillet and rapidly turn the cauliflower with tongs until well coated in glaze. Turn off heat, remove skillet from burner.

To serve: Plate cauliflower over a bed of rice and top with scallion slices. If I have leftover roasted Japanese sweet potato in the fridge from a previous dinner, I'll reheat one for a side to enjoy with this dish. Mangia.