Roasted vegetables over brown rice or pasta is one of my standard fast and healthy dinners when I am just cooking for me and my husband. This particular combination, from Joe Yonan’s brilliant new book, “Eat Your Vegetables: Bold Recipes for the Single Cook” (Ten Speed Press, $24.99) is truly inspired. The creamy sauce made by stirring a little adobo sauce into yogurt is one of dozens of ridiculously simple ideas throughout the book for turning a mundane solo meal into something special. Another thing I love about this book is most of the recipes can be multiplied easily; I quadrupled this one to use the whole head of cauliflower, and reheated it as a side dish for several meals afterward.
Ingredients
1/4 medium cauliflower, cut into bite-size florets (about 1 cup)
1 cup green beans, trimmed
Olive oil
Sea salt
2 tablespoons raw unsalted pecans
1/3 cup plain whole-milk yogurt (may substitute low-fat or nonfat)
1 teaspoon adobo sauce from canned chipotles in adobo, or 1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle
Leaves from 4 sprigs of cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup warmed cooked brown basmati rice or other grain
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. On a rimmed baking sheet toss the cauliflower and green beans with olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt.
3. Roast until the vegetables are tender and the cauliflower is nicely browned on the edges, 20 to 30 minutes, tossing them once or twice during the roasting to keep things even.
4. While the vegetables are roasting, sprinkle the pecans into a small skillet over medium-high heat. Cook, shaking the pan frequently, until the nuts start to brown and become fragrant, a few minutes. Immediately transfer them to a plate to cool; if you leave them to cool in the pan, they can burn. Once they are cool, chop them.
5. In a small bowl, stir together the yogurt and adobo sauce. Taste and add more salt if desired.
6. Remove the cauliflower and green beans from the oven and let cool slightly before transferring to a serving bowl over the rice. Drizzle with the sauce, sprinkle with the cilantro and pecans, and eat.
Makes 1 serving.
