I love watching Jacques’ Instagram videos. This recipe is heavily influenced by a dish he made with cauliflower and scallions. My version is a medley of different brassicas, roasted, pickled and puréed, served with olive tapenade and pecorino cheese. Use any of the brightly colored cauliflowers available from your local market.

Brassicas with Olive Tapenade and Pecorino

Category

Category name

Serves

4 to 6

Ingredients

For the Pickled Cauliflower

  • 2 ¼ cups white balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • ½ cup sugar
  • ½ cup water
  • 1 small purple cauliflower, cut into small florets

For the Brassica Purée and the Sautéed Broccoli

  • Kosher salt
  • 1 small white or yellow cauliflower, trimmed with stems reserved
  • 1 large broccoli crown with stalk, trimmed with stems reserved
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 cup pecorino cheese, cut into small dice
  • Freshly ground black pepper, optional

For the Tapenade

  • 1 ¼ cups pitted Castelvetrano olives
  • 6 cloves garlic, chopped
  • ¼ cup minced scallion, white part only (but reserve the green part)
  • ½ teaspoon red chili flakes
  • 4 teaspoons tahini
  • 2 lemons
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Kosher salt

To Serve

  • Pecorino cheese, for grating
  • Curly scallion leaves (see note below)

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
  2. In a medium, non-reactive saucepan, combine the vinegar, salt, sugar and water and bring to a simmer over high heat. Add the purple cauliflower florets and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and let the cauliflower sit in the pickling liquid for at least 1 hour. You can also transfer the pickled cauliflower to a jar and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 months.
  3. Keeping the cauliflower and broccoli separate, Cut the florets from the white cauliflower and the broccoli and set aside. Cut the stems into like-sized pieces.
  4. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the white cauliflower florets and blanch until just tender, about 2 minutes. Using a spider or slotted spoon transfer the cauliflower to a bowl filled with ice water to shock it. Once cold, remove the cauliflower to a paper towel-lined tray to dry.
  5. To make the brassica purée. In the same boiling water cook the broccoli and cauliflower stems until tender, about 5 minutes. Using a spider or slotted spoon transfer them to the bowl filled with ice water to shock them. Once cold, transfer them to the cup of the blender. Add the pecorino and blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, if necessary.
  6. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium sauté pan over high heat. When it is smoking add the broccoli florets, flower side down, so that they can get really, crispy. Sprinkle with salt and transfer the pan to the oven and cook until lightly browned and crispy, about 5 minutes.
  7. To make the tapenade. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the olives, garlic, whites of the scallion, chili flakes, tahini and the juice from one of the lemons. Process until chunky-smooth. With the blender running, add enough olive oil to thin just enough that the tapenade will easily drop from the spoon. Taste and squeeze in the juice from the remaining lemon and salt if necessary and pulse to mix. Transfer to a bowl.
  8. To assemble the dish. Warm the pickled and blanched cauliflower and the broccoli florets in the oven for about 2 minutes. Spoon the purée onto 4 plates or shallow bowls. Arrange the cauliflowers and broccoli on top and dollop some of the tapenade around. Grate pecorino over the top and garnish with the scallion curls.