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Cauliflower with Almond Aillade

Aillade is like aïoli without the egg. Hey, it’s vegan! Thing is, its egglessness leaves it with a slightly weaker constitution (like some undernourished vegans I know), and so it can break more easily. Happily, it doesn’t matter if it breaks—carry on and it will all come together when it hits the hot cauliflower and a little water. Untoasted almonds let their sweetness show, and quickly boiling and peeling them gives aillade that almost mayonnaise-like look.

Ingredients

Makes about 1 cup

1 almond-size garlic clove (or more)
Kosher or sea salt
1/4 cup peeled raw almonds
3/4 cup good olive oil
1 teaspoon lemon juice or vinegar (white wine, Champagne, or cider)
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
Freshly ground black pepper
1 large cauliflower head (about 2 pounds) cut into Ping-Pong- ball-size florets
  1. Step 1

    Put a large pot of water on to boil for the cauliflower while you make the aillade.

    Step 2

    英镑的大蒜在研钵和研杵针ch of salt, add the almonds and pound to a chunky paste, not entirely smooth. Stir in 1 tablespoon of water and then begin adding olive oil in a thin stream, like making mayonnaise. When half the oil is in, add another tablespoon of water if it’s getting very thick, then keep stirring in the remaining oil. Add the lemon juice or vinegar, chopped parsley, black pepper, and a pinch of salt. Taste and adjust with more lemon or salt and add a splash of water if it needs more flow.

    Step 3

    Add salt to the pot of boiling water and taste that it’s right. Add the cauliflower and cook until tender—about 5 minutes, but tasting a piece is the only way to really know. Stir a couple of tablespoons of the cooking water into the bowl of aillade to get it in the mood. Set aside a little more cooking water for possible adjustments, then drain the cauliflower and put it in a mixing bowl. Stir in the aillade. Taste and adjust for flavor with salt or lemon, and for texture with a splash of cooking water or oil.

  2. Variation

    Step 4

    Smash up a few anchovy fillets with the garlic and almonds.

Cooks' Note

Aillade is also a good dressing for boiled green beans, fennel, or asparagus, or spooned over grilled vegetables, fish, or chicken.

FromAlmonds, Anchovies, and Pancetta: A Vegetarian Cookbook, Kind Of© 2018 by Cal Peternell. Reprinted by permission of William Morrow Cookbooks, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. Buy the full book fromHarperCollinsor fromAmazon.
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  • Made this exactly as instructed. Not a hit with my family...felt I wasted a LOT of good olive oil...

    • blinesm

    • Nowhere and Everywhere

    • 12/1/2020

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