One of my favorite chefs is Alfred Portale of Gotham Bar & Grill, NYC. I love him and his food so much, that I celebrated my graduation from the French Culinary Institute there, with my best girlfriend and soon to be husband, Ed! Chef pulled out all the stops for me.

I am “plant-basing” many of his recipes and excluding salt, oil and sugar. This dish tastes amazing SOS free!

• 1/2 med. onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 TB Madras curry powder
• 1 tsp. turmeric
• Pinch red pepper flakes
• 4 whole canned plum tomatoes gently crushed by hand
• 1 large head cauliflower (2 lbs) separated into large florets
• 2 c Veggie stock
• 2-3 tsp. lime juice
• Black pepper
• 2 TB golden raisins plumped in hot water for 10 minutes and drained
• 2 scallions, white & light green parts, sliced
• 1 TB chopped cilantro
  
  

1- In a saucepan large enough to hold all of the cauliflower without crowding, add onions, garlic and a bit of stock, and cook for 2 minutes. Add curry powder, turmeric, red pepper flakes and tomatoes. Stir and cook gently for 5 minutes.

2- Add cauliflower and stock and season with black pepper. Raise the heat to high and bring the liquid to a boil. Then lower the heat and simmer until the cauliflower is just cooked through -about 10 minutes.

3- Use a slotted spoon to transfer cauliflower and tomato pieces to a warmed serving bowl, leaving 2 florets behind.

4- Cover the bowl to keep warm. Continue to cook the florets until they are quite soft, about 5 minutes more. Use a hand-held blender placed directly into the pot to puree these soft florets and thicken the sauce. Add 2 tsp. lime juice, taste and add more lime juice and pepper if needed.

5- Spoon some of the sauce over the cauliflower, and serve garnished with the raisins, scallions, and cilantro. Pass the remaining sauce on the side.