Since I tried fennel for the first time in February (now one of my favorite dishes) I’ve been wondering what else in the produce section has been missing from my life. Last night’s experiment: cauliflower.

Why have I been overlooking it? Maybe it’s because we’ve been so conditioned to avoid white foods. But cauliflower is the exception to that rule. In fact, it’s packed with nutrients: vitamin C and folate for immune defense, phytonutrients to fight cancer, and heart-healthy benefits to boot.

It’s also quite satisfying, with a dense texture that fills you up like bread or meat would. All that to say, I’ll be working cauliflower into my cooking more often moving forward. Here’s how I prepared it last night (the flavor was even better for lunch today!).

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup Indian curry paste
• 1 onion, diced
• 1/2 head cauliflower, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into half-inch pieces
• 10 brussel sprouts, cleaned and quartered
• 2 roma tomatoes, quartered
• 1 can (14 oz) garbanzo beans, rinsed
• 1/4 cup grape seed oil
• 2 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 1/2 cup water or vegetable stock, plus more as needed

Instructions

1. Heat oil over medium in a large stew pot.
2. Sautee onions for 1 minute.
3. Add curry paste and tomatoes, stirring until incorporated and tomatoes get smashed.
4. Add sweet potatoes and water or stock, simmering for 5 minutes covered.
5. Add cauliflower and salt, simmer for another 5 minutes covered. Add a little more water/stock if necessary to keep ingredients simmering and not sticking to bottom.
6. Add brussel sprouts and garbanzo beans, simmer covered for 5 to 10 minutes until all ingredients are tender but still holding their shape.
7. Serve over basmati rice.

Substitutions

• Frozen peas instead of brussel sprouts
• Carrots instead of sweet potatoes
• Lentils instead of basmati rice