Recipe of the week: layered cauliflower / rakott karfiol

A big part of Hungarian cuisine is layered dishes. The advantage of these meals is that most of the time you just have to add the ingredients to a bowl, forming nice layers, and cook it all together – usually with a nice amount of sour cream, the indispensable ingredient for most Hungarian dishes, on top. This week’s recipe is easy to make, but you will definitely not be disappointed.

The Hungarian layered cauliflower is a very flexible meal; you can make lots of substitutions based on your dietary restrictions. You can make it so it contains only a small amount of meat or even none at all. You can add extra vegetables and create a dish that best suits your tastes, or use leftovers if you want to clean out your fridge. An added benefit is that sour cream, the thing Hungarians dollop onto most dishes, also goes nicely with it.

The only thing you probably need for a layered cauliflower is some cauliflower, which is an excellent vegetable since it is low in fat and carbohydrates but high in dietary fibre and vitamin C, so its nutritional density is pretty high. It is also a popular dish in Hungarian school canteens, so if you feel like you want to reminisce about the ‘good old days’, you can absolutely do it with a plate of layered cauliflower.

Photo: facebook.com/pannoniastudiobistro

Ingredients

1 medium-sized cauliflower

125 g rice

500 g minced pork

375 g sour cream

150 g cheese

salt, pepper

1 small red onion

2 tbsp. sunflower oil

Instructions

Cut the onion and stir-fry the pieces on the oil, then add the pork seasoned with salt and pepper and cook it until it has a nice brown colour. In the meantime, cook the rice. Cut or break the cauliflower up into small pieces, then cook it in slightly salty water. When the rice and cauliflower are tender, and the meat is cooked through, the only thing left for you to do is prepare the layers in a bowl.

Start with the cauliflower, then add the meat and onion mixture on top. Add some sour cream, then a layer of rice on top. Another layer of cauliflower comes next, then the rest of the sour cream. Add some grated cheese on top.

Put the layered dish in the oven for about 20 minutes, on 175 degrees Celsius. The cheesy top should be a nice golden brown by the time the cooking time is up.

Now, all you have to do is serve it and enjoy!

For more recipes, check out last week’s edition of lúdláb cake (‘goosefoot cake’).

Featured image: facebook.com/cinege74

Source: Daily News Hungary