Pan Roasted Achari Salami and Herb Cauliflower
With Borough Market in full swing and many vegetables and herbs at their peak, now is a great time get creative with summer’s bounty. The market stalls are currently overflowing with world-class produce and of course, our friends at Heritage Cheese have a great selection of Tempus charcuterie
This recipe could almost be a vegetarian dish but the addition of the Achari salami really adds something to it and very much follows our Tempus ethos of eat less meat. But eat better!
In this dish, Chef and Tempus Co-Founder Tom Whitaker uses the 2019 charcuterie product of the year – the mighty Achari Salami to great effect with some awesome seasonal herbs and the humble cauliflower… The method involves utilises all of the flavour of the charcuterie to elevate the cauliflower!
@cheftomwhitaker / @tempusfoods
Pan-roasted Achari and Herb Cauliflower
Feeds 2
1 cauliflower – remove leaves, slice the cauliflower in half through the equator then slice the rounded side of each steak so that you have two 3cm thick steaks
75g sliced achari salami
Half a shallot – thinly sliced
10g Wild fennel seeds
Fronds and flowering heads of fennel plants
Thyme leaves and flowers
25g Tempus Lardo (freeze first)
1 clove garlic – crushed but not sliced
25g Butter
Pickled mustard seeds
Method:
Set oven to 180℃
Thinly slice the lardo and gently heat with the garlic clove in a large frying pan (oven proof if possible) until fully rendered – once melted, remove the clove and discard.
Reserve 2 slices of the Achari Salami and slice the rest into match sticks, turn up the heat slightly in the pan, add the match sticks and the sliced shallot and cook until crisp, do not let them burn as we are building up the flavoured oil for the rest of the dish. Once crisp remove and reserve leaving the oil in the pan.
Add the fennel seeds to the pan and gently cook until they start colour - once coloured remove and reserve, leaving the oil in the pan.
At this stage add the butter and a couple of pinches of salt to the pan, once the butter starts to foam add the cauliflower slices. You are looking for real caramelisation on the slices so check regularly to ensure they are colouring but not burning. Once sufficiently coloured on one side, gently turn them over. Try to do this only once as they can start to come apart if turned too much.
Once browned on both sides, place a slice of salami on top of the steak and spoon over the oil/butter over the top side and place in the oven (in the pan if possible) and bake for 10-12 minutes until tender but still with some bite – check regularly as it is better under-cooked.
Whilst the cauliflower is baking roughly chop fennel fronds and the thyme and fennel flowers. Mix with the crisp Achari salami, shallots, pickled mustard seeds and fennel seeds.
Once the cauliflower steak is ready, carefully top with the herb and salami mixture and finish with some fennel fronds.
Serve it straight away with a sharp-dressed green salad.
