Brown Butter Blumenkohl
My grandmother, and subsequently my mother, often made this easy side dish, where browned butter is mixed with breadcrumbs and scooped over steamed cauliflower.
Grossmami on a Davoser…that’s my mother peeking out, second from the front.
The recipe is simple and elegant (like both my mother and grandmother) and it remains the most requested vegetable side dish at our house.
Although I love attributing this recipe to my grandmother, of course it is not unique—brown butter and breadcrumbs make a great topping for many things.
I even found a similar cauliflower in my beloved Köchinnen und ihre Rezepte by Sabine Bolliger, that featured among the vegetarian dishes at the Bircher-Benner clinic in Zürich (where Birchermüesli was born).
1 cauliflower
50 g butter
2 tbsp breadcrumbs
salt and pepper to taste
Trim the cauliflower into florets, then steam until you reach your desired level of doneness. Arrange on a serving plate.
In a small pot, bring the butter to a boil. Continue cooking until it begins to brown, then remove from heat. Stir in the breadcrumbs. Season with salt and pepper.
Spoon over the cauliflower and serve.
For best results, use a pot with a light-coloured bottom (not black) when browning the butter, so you can see as soon as it starts turning brown.
I like to use homemade breadcrumbs (Zopf in particular), but store-bought work too.
More veg?
Speckrüebli
