50 Women Game Changers in Food - #32 Tracey Ryder and Carole Topalian - Roasted Cauliflower with Golden Raisins and Pine Nuts

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Tracey Ryder and Carole Topalian are the founders of Edible Communities, the nation's largest publishing company dedicated to the local food movement. They publish 70 magazines across North America and the content of each is region specific, focusing on the farmers, fishermen, chefs and food artisans of the area. The women founded the company to help the public access healthful foods. They met in graduate school where both women earned degrees in Jungian psychology. Following graduation, they moved to Ojai, California where they formed a graphic design and marketing firm called Elements. Their first publication was Edible Ojai and that set the standard for other magazines whose intent was to make better eating accessible. The companies first cookbook, Edible: A Celebration of Local Foods, was published in 2010 and there are four more cookbooks to come. The women are adding magazines to their publishing empire at the rate of 10 per year and their media presence is also growing. Programming of podcasts on Edible Radio is expanding and they hope to be on television, so the stories they wish to tell can be heard by a larger audience. Tracey is a trained chef and did much of the writing for their cookbook. Carole's photographs bring their mission to life. Together they share position 32 on the Gourmet Live list of 50 Women Game Changers in Food.

I've chosen a simple, though classic, dish to highlight the type of food they champion. It is a lovely recipe for roasted cauliflower and its nutty flavor is further improved by the sweetness of raisins and the texture of pine nuts. The recipe is straight forward and really needs no additional explanation. I do, however, have one caution. I found the recipe to be a bit salty and I will reduce the amount of salt by one third when I make it again. You can always add more should you find it necessary. Here's their recipe.

Roasted Cauliflower with Golden Raisins and Pine Nuts...from the kitchenof One Perfect Bite courtesy of Tracey Ryder and Carole Topalian from Edible: A Celebration of Local Food

Ingredients:
1 (2-3 pound) medium head cauliflower, cored and cut into small florets
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more if needed, divided
1/3 cup pine nuts
2 medium leeks, white and light green parts only, halved lengthwise and thin sliced crosswise
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg or ground cardamom
1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne, optional
1/2 cup golden raisins, dried currants or Thompson raisins

Directions:
1) Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Lightly grease the parchment paper.
2) Spread the cauliflower onto the baking sheet in a single layer. Drizzle the cauliflower with 2 tablespoons of the oil and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt. Bake for 15 minutes. Stir the cauliflower and bake until it is lightly browned and tender, 10 to 20 minutes.
3) In a large skillet or saute pan, cook the pine nuts over medium heat, stirring frequently, until very lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Remove the pine nuts to a dish; set aside. In the same skillet, heat the remaining tablespoon of oil over medium heat and add the leeks and cook, stirring frequently, until lightly browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the pepper, nutmeg, cayenne, if using, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Remove from the heat.
4) In a large bowl, toss the roasted cauliflower with the leek mixture, pine nuts and raisins. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Serve hot or at room temperature. Yield: 6 servings.

The following bloggers are also featuring the recipes of Tracey Ryder and Carole Topalian today. I hope you'll pay them all a visit. They are great cooks who have wonderful blogs.

Val - More Than Burnt Toast, Taryn - Have Kitchen Will Feed, Susan - The Spice Garden, Heather - girlichef, Miranda - Mangoes and Chutney, Jeanette - Healthy Living
Mary - One Perfect Bite, Kathleen - Bake Away with Me, Sue - The View from Great Island Barbara - Movable Feasts , Linda A - There and Back Again, Nancy - Picadillo
Mireya - My Healthy Eating Habits, Veronica - My Catholic Kitchen
Annie - Most Lovely Things, Claudia - Journey of an Italian Cook, Alyce - More Time at the Table, Amrita - Beetles Kitchen Escapades

Next week we will highlight the career and recipes of Christopher Hirsheimer and Melissa Hamilton. It will be really interesting to see what everyone comes up with. If you'd like to join us please email me for additional information no later than Monday, January 30th.