Cavolfiore alla Vodka

The newest thing to hit our fridge is some cauliflower with vodka sauce. We used a version of Epicurious's vodka sauce and Heidi's five minute tomato sauce. Heidi's tomato sauce is how I start any kind of red sauce.

2 15oz cans tomato sauce
1 14.5oz can of diced tomatoes
1 head of minced garlic
1 tsp crushed red pepper
2 tsp salt
1/4 cup avocado oil
1/4 cup vodka
1/2 cup yogurt
3 Tbs chopped parsley

Put the garlic, oil, pepper, and salt in a pan over medium-high heat. Let it cook for a minute "until fragrant" as Heidi says then dump the tomatoes in the pan. Leave it at a "lively simmer" for 30-45 minutes. I stir this every 10 minutes but it could probably sit there bu itself. Stir in the vodka and let it simmer for another 10 minutes. Turn the heat off. Stir in the yogurt and parsley. Boom. Done. Well add some butter to it right before you eat it. Butter gives this sauce it's decadent richness. Makes 5 cups.

I would have used heavy cream instead of yogurt. I wasn't sure I'd have enough for the week if I did. Sour cream would also work instead of the yogurt or heavy cream. This sauce is the kind of thing I start before I putter in the kitchen making pancakes or grating cheese or cutting up vegetables for other things. I stick on the back burner and most forget about it in the "lively simmer" stages.


1 floreted? and cooked cauliflower
3 cups vodka sauce
2 Tbs heavy cream
2 Tbs melted butter
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Palmful of chopped basil leaves
6 slices Provolone

Lay half the cauliflower into your baking dish. Stir together the vodka sauce, cream, butter, parmesan, salt, pepper, and basil. pour half the sauce over the cauliflower in the baking dish. Add the second half of cauliflower to the baking dish and pour the remaining sauce over the cauliflower. Top the cauliflower mixture with the provolone slices. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

The provolone slices don't add anything to this dish. If you want more cheese then cut the provolone into chunks and stir it in the mixture before baking. This was not a quick dish like I was hoping but it's one of the best ways I've had cauliflower. Except maybe roasted. Ooooo, I bet roasted cauliflower would be good dipped in the vodka sauce. Mmmmm. The twins love this one, especially Jeremy.