Winter brings an almost pathological need for the comfort of mashed potatoes. There's something about the texture, and the lashing of butter, that fortifies the medieval Anglo-Saxon heart for the deprivations of the coming winter. It's primal, akin to the gorging of polar bears prior to their long hibernation.
However this is not good for the power to weight ratio of aspiring sprinters, climbers and domestiques. It does help with the downhill bits, but that is another story. So an analogues had to be found the fill the emotional gap previously filled with lovely, creamy, butter and salt laden mashed spuds.
Enter mashed cauliflower, steamed over chicken stock. This is so delicious and so simple that words fail me.
Take a cauliflower, any leaves and hard bits of stem off, but leave the head whole. I don't want you cutting off any of the florets. Put it in a snug fitting pot with about 250mls of really good chicken stock (see my post). Please note we are steaming the cauliflower not boiling it. The chicken stock should only come up the sides of the pot 2 or 3 cm. Bring the stock to a moderate boil for about twenty minutes, or until the cauliflower is tender.
Take care not to let the pot boil dry. Check regularly and add a little boiling water from the kettle if it is getting too low.
When the cauliflower is cooked, remove the pot from the heat. Strain any remaining stock into cups and serve as a starter. Crumble 50-100 grams of feta cheese into the put with the cauliflower and take to it with either a mixing wand or the trusty potato masher. Serve with a sprinkle of dukkah. Delicious.
As a variation, try this mixture with a mix of cauliflower and broccoli (they're from the same family).
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