Cauliflower Kugel by bookseller

At Whole Foods, they called this Cauliflower Kugel, and they served it as part of a Passover line-up, but there's nothing particularly Passover-y about it, except that the original recipe called for some matzoh meal (which I didn't have, and so used flour instead). The flavors of dill and sour cream (I used yogurt) are in fact very eastern European and thus part of the Ashkanazik larder. And this would be a great side dish at a Seder -- or any other meal -- that featured salmon, say. But still, it's just a tasty veg dish, not particularly Jewish or Passover-y.

Slice up a bunch of members of the onion family (recipe said leeks; I used scallions and some wild garlic), and sweat them in butter till soft. I used three bunches of scallions and three large stems of wild garlic in about two tablespoons of butter. Mix with about 1/3 - 1/2 cup each chopped fresh dill and fresh parsley, about 1/3 cup sliced or chopped almonds, 1/2 cup flour or matzoh meal (or cracker meal), and 20 oz. (raw weight) cauliflower florets that have been chopped into small bits and microwaved for about 2 minutes with a couple splashes of water.

If you used zucchini, some mushrooms -- also cooked first, to cook out the water -- would be a terrific addition. Mmmmmm, I bet that would be better than the cauli, even.



In another bowl, soften a bit more than half of an 8 oz package of cream cheese (nuke it for a minute), and mix it well with a scant cup of Greek yogurt (or sour cream), a large egg, 1.5 tablespoons of butter, and a teaspoon of lemon juice. Add salt and pepper to taste (I like a lot of black pepper). Mix this with the veg, and scrape everything into an oiled or Pam-med 9 x 13 baking pan. Sprinkle another 1/3 cup of almonds (I used pumpkin seeds) over the top, and bake at 325 for about 35 minutes; check after 10 to see if it's browning too quickly, in which case cover with tin foil.