The word Yaxni is a Greek word meaning to braise in a tomato base sauce. I grew up with these types of dishes as my mum always made them during the cold Canadian months and also during lent fasting period. For our lent, we would omit the wine. This type of dish is very versatile and can be made with a variety of vegetables, pretty much anything you have available in your fridge, cauliflower, Green beans, potatoes, eggplant, zucchini and even white beans. Its packed with lots of local nutritious veggies such as carrots, celery, onions and tomatoes. This is definitely a perfect hug of comfort. In this recipe, I gave an Italian classic, Osso Buco a vegetable twist using cauliflower steaks.

Topped with a walnut gremolata, a fresh garnish made with Italian flat leaf parsley, lemon zest and crushed walnuts for a subtle crunch. Served best with your favourite crusty bread to mop up all the delicious flavourful sauce. This dish even tastes better served the next day. You can enjoy it as a meal or as a side to any protein or fish.

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Cauliflower Yaxni

Total Time1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Course: Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine: Cypriot, Greek, Italian

Materials

• 1/4 olive oil
• 1 large head cauliflower
• 2 anchovies in oil (optional)
• 4 garlic cloves skin removed and crushed whole
• 1 medium cooking onion diced
• 2 large carrots scrubbed and cut into 1/2 inch diagonal or round slices
• 2 celery stalks cut in 1/2 inch pieces
• 1/4 cup celery leaves
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1/3 cup dry white wine (optional)
• 2 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes
• 1 cup vegetable stock
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp fresh ground pepper

Walnut Gremolata

• 1 cup fresh Italian flat leaf parsley finely chopped
• 1 tbsp walnuts finely chopped
• zest of one lemon

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 325F.
• To prepare cauliflower, cut off the outer green leaves. Trim off the bottom of the cauliflower stem but make sure to keep the core intact. Cut right through the middle of the cauliflower head, this keeps the florets together. Cut thick slices, about 1 1/2-inch thick to have a heartier bite and stay intact while cooking. The excess florets that do not connect to the steaks will be added in as well.
• In a large cast iron dutch oven or pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Sear cauliflower 1-2 minutes per sideas well as leftover florets until golden brown. Remove the steaks carefully so they won’t break and set aside.
• Reduce heat to medium and add anchovies and cook for about 30 seconds breaking them down with a wooden spoon. Add onions, garlic, carrots, celery, leaves and sauté for 2-3 minutes until onions and garlic are soft and translucent.
• Stir in tomato paste and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
• If you are using wine, add the wine and cook until it is reduced to half.
• Add cherry tomatoes and cook for 10 minutes or until tomatoes have softened and reduced their juice. You can gently break them down with the back of the wooden spoon once they soften.
• Add vegetable stock, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Bring to a slight boil and turn off heat. Arrange cauliflower in sauce.
• Cover and bake in the oven for 45 mins to 1 hour until cauliflower is tender.
• Remove from oven and let rest while you make the gremolata.
• To make gremolata, mix all ingredients in a bowl.
• Serve cauliflower yaxni (osso buco) topped with gremolata and your favourite crusty bread to soak up the sauce.