This side-dish recipe was taken from Urban Italian, Andrew Carmellini; Recommended by Rachel O’Kaine http://anamericaninturin.wordpress.com/
Keeping in the spirit of slow food here in Torino, here is a recipe made entirely of local, seasonal products. Buon apetito!
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients:
1/2 medium head cauliflower, thoroughly washed and cut into florets
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup peeled hazelnuts, chopped
4 sage leaves, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon coarse-ground black pepper
1 ripe pear, sliced thin
1 tablespoon roughly chopped parsley
Method:
Cut each floret into slices no more than 1/2 inch thick.
Melt organic butter olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-heat until it bubbles white. Add the hazelnuts, sage and sliced cauliflower and cook together, stirring or shaking the pan every 30 seconds or so to keep them from sticking, until the cauliflower begins to soften for about 2 minutes.
Add the salt and pepper and cook for another 4 to 5 minutes, until the cauliflower browns a bit.
Turn off the heat and add the pear slices and parsley. Remove from the stove and mix all the ingredients together. Serve immediately.
Food as Medicine
Hazelnuts
The reason nutella has a reputation for being healthy is due to its content in hazelnut. Unfortunately, what is not said in their abundance of advertisements is that its first ingredient is sugar and that it only contains 13% hazelnuts! Nutella: not so healthful…
Why do hazelnuts have such a great health reputation then? Like all nuts, these contain healthy fats, and are particularly high in monounsaturated fats, which are proven to reduce bad cholesterol (LDL) and increases good cholesterol (HDL). It is also a great source of vitamin E, antioxidants and fiber; a good source of magnesium and a source of iron. Some research also shows that it helps disolve kidney stones.
Looking for ways to integrate them into your diet? Eat a handful of them as a snack, eat them as nut butter on bread for breakfast, add them to your granola, to salads…
