Little Red Stove

Weeknight dinners served a very important purpose in my household growing up, and have led to the very definition in my mind as: a designated time during very hectic Monday-Friday nights to sit, talk, and eat together as a family.

Between my dogs hurling their bodyweight into me to guide me towards their food bowls, the 4 bags of groceries on my arm, the phone ringing, and my looming to-do list for the morning; cooking dinner became not another task, but a luxury.
I consider cooking for my loved ones to be an incredible privilege. Friends and family can tell you, if you are in need of a pick-me-up, I will happily squeeze in 10 minutes to whip you up something to make sure you know you are loved and cared for.

This was one of those nights. I needed a quick, but satisfying (and FUN) one pan dinner.

Seriously folks, this took a blender, a knife, a sheet pan, and a really serious craving.

Cravings rule everything around me. I often crave Mexican street corn, and this warm weather is just making those cravings all the more real. I bought a heaping amount of produce because my local grocery store was bursting at the seams with it, and of course, corn was not one of the million things I came home with.
Thusly, the Mexican style street cauliflower with salsa verde was born. Welcome to the world, you little miracle.

The salsa verde is something you’re going to want to slather on basically everything. You probably should. Heck, you should just take some chips to it. Make it 1, 2, or 3 days ahead. It will just get better.

You will need for the salsa verde (makes about 1 cup):
1 cup flat leaf parsley
1/4 cup cilantro
3 peeled and crushed garlic cloves
1/2 jalapeno, chopped (seeds included if you like caliente, excluded if you’re more mild)
1/2 small red onion, chopped
1 lime, juiced
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tbs salt

Combine this all in the bowl of a food processor or a blender, and pulse until no really large chunks remain. Small chunks are A-okay.

You will need for the cauliflower:
2 medium cauliflower, cut into 1 inch steaks (leave the stem intact to help with this)
1 poblano pepper, sliced into long strips
1/2 small red onion (leftover from the salsa)
1/4 cup good quality mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Adobo seasoning (I cook with this a lot, and I’m almost 100% positive it’s the reason my husband proposed to me. So thanks, Goya.)
2 teaspoons cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
freshly ground pepper
queso fresco

Heat the oven to 450 degrees. On a sheet pan, toss the onion, pepper, and about 1 tsp olive oil. Place the cauliflower steaks around so they have room and won’t steam.
Using a brush, paint the mayonnaise onto the cauliflower. This is important for browning, and flavaaaa.
Sprinkle the adobo, cumin, chili powder, and pepper into each steak and the vegetables.
Roast these together for about 15 minutes or until the cauliflower is tender but not too soft.
Broil for 3 minutes to blister the peppers and caramelize the steaks.

Sprinkle with the quest fresco, drizzle with salsa verde, and serve with extra lime wedges.

Tonight, I was perfectly content eating these sheet pan veggies as the side dish. However, I wouldn’t be mad at some really delicious rice and black beans…