Cauliflower with breadcrumbs

S made this - he said it was something his Dad used to make.  And that he thinks it was a classic German post-war dish.  There is something very German about it, I'm not quite sure what - pale, unadorned veggies, with toasty crunch, as a dearth of strong flavours lets subtle tastes shine on.  S loves fried garlic, I suspect that was an inauthentic 21st-century-german-whose-name-begins-with-S addition.

1 cauliflower head
1 cup breadcrumbs
2 cloves garlic, chopped
olive oil
salt and pepper

Clean the cauliflower, remove the outer leaves and divide into floret chunks about 2 in across.  Put in a steamer and steam for 10-15 min, until tender.

Meanwhile, prepare the garlic.  Heat ~1 tbsp olive oil in a pan and lightly fry the garlic.  Add the breadcrumbs and toast for 2-3 min til browned (but not burnt) and smelling good.

To serve, put some freshly steamed cauliflower in a bowl, add breadcrumbs and eat straight away (it all was gone before I could take a photo).


Simple and tasty - good mixture of subtle flavours and textures.  One of the most exciting things S has cooked for me in a while.