Cook Like a Rock Star - Anne Burrell [16]
4 Preheat the oven to 400°F.
5 When the polenta is set, cut it into 1-inch squares. Put the squares on a baking sheet and top each with a piece of Taleggio.
6 Put the cherry tomatoes on a separate baking sheet and toss them with olive oil. Bake both the polenta squares and the tomatoes for 10 minutes. The tomatoes should be hot, starting to relax, and getting a little squishy, and the Taleggio should be nicely melted.
7 Put the polenta cakes on a serving dish, top each square with a cherry tomato half, and garnish each with a little sprinkey-dink of coarse sea salt and chives.
What a corn cake!!!
Polenta starts to bubble like hot lava fields and if it gets on you it will stick and burn—so watch out!
SERVES: 6 TO 8 • TIME: ABOUT 45 MINUTES
Cauliflower is one of my favorite vegetables. I love to jack it up with some bread crumbs and Parm and deep-fry it till it’s nice and brown. These are little bites of crunchy, cheesy, salty, heavenly loveliness. Add some garlicky goodness in the form of a dipping sauce and you have a showstopper!
MISE EN PLACE
FOR THE CAULIFLOWER
Kosher salt
1 head of cauliflower, cut into bite-size florets
2 cups peanut or other neutral-flavored oil
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs, beaten with 2 tablespoons water
1 cup bread crumbs
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano
FOR THE GARLIC DIPPER
2 cups day-old or stale rustic Italian bread, crusts removed and cubed
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, or to taste
2 cloves garlic, smashed
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
FOR THE CAULIFLOWER
1 Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil, set up a large bowl of well-salted ice water, and line a baking sheet with paper towels. Toss the cauliflower florets into the boiling water. When the water returns to a boil, cook the cauliflower for 2 more minutes, then drain and immediately plunge into the ice water. When the cauliflower has cooled, drain it and lay it out to dry on the prepared baking sheet. (While you wait, you can get your dipper going—now that’s what I call multitasking!)
2 Pour the peanut oil into a large saucepan over medium-high heat; the oil should come 1½ to 2 inches up the sides of the pan. To see if it’s hot enough, drop some flour into it. If the flour sizzles and floats quickly, you’re good to go. If the flour burns or the oil begins to smoke, it’s too hot, so reduce the heat.
3 While the oil heats, set up your standard breading procedure: one bowl of flour, one bowl with the egg-water mixture, and one with the bread crumbs and grated Parm. Then set up your drying situation next to the stove by putting a couple layers of paper towels on a baking sheet. When the oil is hot, dredge the cauliflower in the flour and shake off the excess, then run it through the egg mixture, and finally through the bread crumb–Parm mixture. Repeat this process with all the cauliflower.
4 Working in batches so you don’t overcrowd the pan, fry the cauliflower until brown and crispy, 3 to 5 minutes; then transfer to the paper towels, sprinkle with salt, and serve hot, hot, hot with the garlic dipper.
FOR THE DIPPER
In a medium bowl, toss the bread with enough water to really moisten it up; you want it almost soggy. Then squeeze out the excess water and put the bread, vinegar, and garlic in a food processor and purée, purée, purée—it should be really smooth! While the machine is still running, drizzle in the olive oil until combined. Season with salt and more vinegar if you like—I like a very bright, acidic dipping sauce. Put the dipper in a dish and serve it along with the cauliflower.
Mmmmm … salty, crispy, crunchy cauliflower and garlicky gooooodness!
STANDARD BREADING PROCEDURE
(a.k.a. The Way to Coat Stuff for Deep-Frying)
The point of the standard breading procedure is to coat something—anything, really—in bread crumbs so when it’s