Cauli & Sage Risotto with Walnuts using a slow cooker - or not!

This is a dish that can be cooked on the hob, in the oven, or in the slow cooker; here is my slow cooker version, with notes on the other methods at the end. The recipe was inspired by an oven-bake version from Sainsbury's Magazine March 2017.

The resulting quantity would serve 4, and this method needs about 1h 40m from start to serving. The cooker comes on right at the start (I keep it on high setting throughout for this), and the cauliflower and following ingredients can be prepared while the onion etc is cooking.

Cauliflower and Sage Risotto with Walnuts

This is about half the complete recipe

Ingredients
30g butter
1 large onion, peeled and chopped fairly finely
3 good garlic cloves, peeled and crushed or pressed
150g risotto rice
450ml hot vegetarian stock
1 medium cauliflower, florets only, cut to ping-pong-ball size
leaves from 1 large stem of sage, finely snipped (8-10g)
50g walnut pieces, coarsely chopped
60g crumbled vegetarian cheese (I use 40g hard/Cheddar, 20g blue)

Method
1  Start the slow cooker on high, adding half of the butter and leave to melt while
          preparing the onion and garlic.

2  Add the onion, garlic and rice to the cooker, stir well, then leave for 5 mins.

3  Pour in about 400ml of the stock, keeping the rest in case needed later.
          Stir then leave for 45 mins. If the mixture starts to look claggy, stir in
          more stock bit by bit.

4  Meanwhile, prepare the cauliflower, sage, walnuts and cheese. Bring water to
          boil in a large pan then simmer the cauli florets for 5 mins. Drain the
          water from the pan, add the remaining butter and sautee the cauli very
          gently for another 5 mins. (I prefer this to adding it early on to the cooker
          as it gives better control of consistency.)

5  Optional - dry fry the walnut pieces for 3-4 mins. (Put in small dry pan over 
          medium heat and stir often, avoiding burning.)

6  After the 45 mins, add in the cauliflower, sage and walnut pieces, mix well
          and cook for 15 mins.

7  Then stir in the cheese and leave to cook for a further 10 mins.

     *                    *                    *                    *                    *                    *

To bake this in the oven, I'd suggest 160C. 
(a)  Sautee the onion and garlic in a pan.
(b)  Mix in the rice and stir for a minute or two.
(c)  Add the stock.
(d)  Pile into a large oven dish (leaving enough space for the cauliflower.) 
(e)  After about 30 mins add the cauli, sage, walnuts and cheese, mixing well.
(f)  Bake for a further 20 mins.
For more excitement, top with some grated cheddar for the last 10 mins!

For cooking on the hob, use a large pan. Follow (a) to (c) then (e), adding a little extra stock if needed as it cooks. Stir from time to time. Cook for a further 15-20 mins until you like the consistency.

No side dishes are necessary here, although some warm, crusty garlic bread would be great if that's not too much carb. Otherwise a side salad.

Substitutions
Broccoli, broad beans, peas all go well in this risotto. Instead of walnuts: hazelnuts, brazils or pecans would be good; almonds might stay rather too hard. Thyme leaves instead of sage? This recipe should be called 'Anything with Anything Risotto'.

Cauliflower, Stilton & Tomato Tart, a pub favourite

While thinking of dropping into a chain pub/restaurant, I checked their menu online, probably like countless other skeptical vegetarians. Only two choices appeared, a simple pasta dish, or - cauliflower, cheese and tomato tart. That'd be good. But then again, it sounded so simple that I decided to make it at home. Cauliflower, cheese, tomato, pastry?

The freezer already contains portions of various tarts, but since I enjoy making them to eat straight from the oven, we forget to forage for them. Accordingly, I make this dish for just two portions, especially as there was half a rolled sheet of puff pastry in the freezer just asking for it. Hence the picture which looks as though the tart is topped with giant tomatoes. 

The quantities here would make four to six helpings. Once the pastry is thawed in the fridge, the tart takes about an hour from start to serving and there are no complicated manoeuvres. The step of brushing the pastry with egg and baking an initial five minutes before filling isn't vital, but it helps to form a barrier to prevent the base from becoming soggy.

Cauliflower, Stilton and Tomato Tart
The oven will need to be at 175C, middle shelf. A baking sheet ready lined with parchment will make sure the pastry doesn't stick while cooking. The pastry should be thawed, preferably overnight or for a few hours in the fridge. If you like pastry to be thin, the sheet can be rolled out to a slightly larger area.

Ingredients
1 sheet of frozen rolled puff pastry
1 medium cauliflower trimmed into small florets (leaves can be saved to use later)
1 tbsp oil
1 large onion (or 2 medium), peeled and coarsely chopped
2 eggs, lightly beaten
100ml double cream
100g Stilton, crumbled (or another blue cheese or Cheddar)
Half tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 large tomatoes, thinly sliced

Method
1  Unroll the pastry and place centrally on the lined baking sheet. Turn up about 15mm
         all around the edge, pinching the corners to help keep the turn-up in place. Prick
         the base a number of times with a fork to help prevent it rising in the oven.
2  Put the oven on about now!
3  Boil a good amount of water in a large pan. Add the cauliflower and simmer 6-7 mins
         then drain well and leave to cool a little.
4  Meanwhile, heat the oil in a small pan, then saute the onions gently for 5 mins.
5  Brush the pastry case very thinly with a little of the beaten egg; put it in the oven
         for 5 mins to help seal the base, then remove from oven.
6  Add the cream to the eggs and mix well. Stir in the crumbled cheese and the salt &
         pepper.
7  When the tart is out, press the base down gently if it has risen. Spread the onions 
         over the base and arrange the cauliflower florets over them. Pour the egg mixture
         carefully on top, then arrange the tomato slices over the tart.
8  Bake for about 25 mins until the pastry is golden and the filling looks set.

We served this with only a heap of buttered Jersey Royals sprinkled with chopped fresh coriander. And a dry white wine.

A chopped herb of choice could be sprinkled over the tart before cooking, or sliced mushrooms added just before baking. 

An alternative presentation is to make individual tarts, either on a baking sheet using the 'turn-up' way, or using a tray of individual Yorkshire pudding tins. In this case, slightly less filling would be needed. The tart is nice at room temperature, but if there are leftovers, I think they're nicest given about 5 mins in the oven to crisp up the pastry. Shortcrust pastry would be OK and perhaps more traditional, but I'm seduced by the golden flakiness of puff pastry and always have it in the freezer. 

I keep two files of recipe cuttings and scribblings. One has ideas which sound great but are yet to be tried, but the other is the tried-and-tested collection, separated into lots of categores in a really nerdy way, e.g.starters not soup, soup, mains with pastry, mains with pasta, veg sides, biscuits/cakes.This recipe has gone straight into the latter.

Easy Baked Pasta with Cauliflower and Mushrooms

Keen cooks probably knock up a pasta dish without needing a recipe. However, on this blog I like to include some recipes that don't need any special skill, and to give details of preparation and 'do one thing while another is being done'. The ingredients are inexpensive, too.

 This dish takes about 20-25 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to bake. The recipe serves four, and of course the fusilli can be substituted by another bitty pasta. I don't see it with spaghetti or tagliatelle, but papardelle (wide flat strips) might be OK. If the cook is in a hurry, the dish can be put under the grill for 5 minutes instead of baking, but all ingredients except the cheese would need to be hot already. Or, the dish could be made in advance, then microwaved until piping hot and put under the grill.

For speed, I like packet cheese sauces. Asda's own has the advantage of being made up with boiling water; Sainsbury's own is very tasty but needs milk - though I usually use two-thirds milk and one-third water from cooking the cauli. (In this case the powder goes in a pan and the liquid is stirred in before bringing the sauce to the boil.)

by Liz West
via flickr.com

Pasta with Cauliflower and Mushrooms

The oven, set at 160C, should be switched on about 10 minutes into the prep time.
A large oven-proof dish is needed, lightly brushed with oil.

Ingredients

1 tbsp oil

1 medium onion

10 small mushrooms

1 small cauliflower, coarser stalks discarded and the rest cut into large chunks
175g fusilli pasta (spirals)

2 packets of cheese sauce 

2 tablespoons of chopped fresh herbs (e.g. sage, parsley) or 1 tbsp of dried
Handful of raw fresh peanuts (optional but lovely)
1 tsp ground black pepper

Matchbox-sized piece of vegetarian cheddar, coarsely grated

by zimpenfish
via flickr.com

Method

1  Put plenty of water on to boil for the cauliflower, and heat the oil in a small pan.
2  Peel and coarsely chop the onion, then add it to the oil and fry gently for 5 mins. 
          Trim the mushrooms, add to the onion, and fry a further 3 minutes.
3  Meanwhile, boil the cauliflower for 6-7 minutes, then lift out and place in the 
          oven-proof dish. 
4  Return the cauli water to the boil and add the pasta. Make up the cheese sauce
          while letting the pasta simmer for 8-9 mins until nearly soft, stirring often.
          Drain and add to the oven dish with the onion mixture.
5  Add the made-up cheese sauce, the herbs, peanuts (if using) and pepper and mix 
          thoroughly.
6  Sprinkle the grated cheese evenly over, and bake for about 25 mins until bubbling
          well and the cheese is melted and golden.

Likely veg to serve with this include whole green beans, peas, sweetcorn, grilled halved tomatoes, or roasted red peppers. A chilled cider might go well as an alternative to an Italian white or red wine.