Very nice. Both your recollections and your recipe. We must have been in Burma the wrong time of year for caulifower. But we loved the country (Bagan - where we saw a nat festival - and Inle Lake were particularly beautiful), and I loved the food. I am thus a fan of cauliflower distinct from its relationship to Burma. But the recipe sounds lovely. Once again I'm stymied by the lack of availability of scallions in Portugal. I don't understand it. Or perhaps its a seasonality question - as the produce here does seem to follow the seasons much more closely than the mass-produced-for-shipping American market I'm accustomed to. But it is interesting that the Portuguese word cebolinha means both chives and scallions. I understand the relationship of the aliums, but it is a bit frustrating.
I've only recently fallen in love with scallions and scatter them almost indiscriminately over salads. I understand how you might miss them. Could you try growing them in a window box?
I wish I could turn out a good cauliflower cheese. But I just don't think that deliberately disguising sauce (in my view) flatters the poor vegetable, which can be so good in every other recipe.
Very nice. Both your recollections and your recipe. We must have been in Burma the wrong time of year for caulifower. But we loved the country (Bagan - where we saw a nat festival - and Inle Lake were particularly beautiful), and I loved the food. I am thus a fan of cauliflower distinct from its relationship to Burma. But the recipe sounds lovely. Once again I'm stymied by the lack of availability of scallions in Portugal. I don't understand it. Or perhaps its a seasonality question - as the produce here does seem to follow the seasons much more closely than the mass-produced-for-shipping American market I'm accustomed to. But it is interesting that the Portuguese word cebolinha means both chives and scallions. I understand the relationship of the aliums, but it is a bit frustrating.
I've only recently fallen in love with scallions and scatter them almost indiscriminately over salads. I understand how you might miss them. Could you try growing them in a window box?
Perhaps. Worth thinking about for next year, anyway. I usually substitute shallots (échalotes). Sometimes we can get these: (https://kcet.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/dc3895f/2147483647/strip/true/crop/600x450+0+0/resize/1200x900!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fkcet-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fkl%2Ffiles%2Fatoms%2Farticle_atoms%2Fwww.kcet.org%2Fliving%2Ffood%2Fassets%2Fimages%2Fonions.jpg)
Yum! Those purple ones! Might also be delicious slowly roasted till gummy in oil and thyme?
I've only seen them very occasionally in the monthly organic market. Mostly they are the white ones. But an alium's and alium, n'est-ce pas?
As ever, a very informed and entertaining piece. And what a yummy sounding recipe to replace soggy cauliflower cheese!
I wish I could turn out a good cauliflower cheese. But I just don't think that deliberately disguising sauce (in my view) flatters the poor vegetable, which can be so good in every other recipe.
Lots of mustard in the sauce helps I reckon.
And chili and parsley and cheesy breadcrumbs...all of them diversionary tactics.