Looking for a unique and tasty side dish? Cauliflower tends to be quite bland on its own, but perks up when seasoned with any number of different flavorings. Known as the chameleon of the culinary world, cauliflower adapts well to everything from “rice” to pizza crusts. But no matter how you use it, the key is pairing it with high impact ingredients.

Here, salty, smoky bacon and lightly toasted garlic bring loads of flavor to cauliflower simmered in chicken broth. At the end of cooking, the broth is thickened with a cornstarch slurry to create a velvety sauce. A full bunch of scallions, thinly sliced and stirred in to finish, adds punchy allium flavor.

According to Milk Street, this method gently—and quickly—cooks the chopped veggie, ensuring the pieces are toothsomely tender. As the ingredients mingle, complex layers of savory, sweet and vegetal permeate all the nooks and crannies of the florets. To finish the dish, a smattering of chopped scallions rounds out the flavors, balancing the savory notes with oniony freshness.

In the end, while the flavor profile was spot on, we both thought that it was too liquidy, more soupy if you will. The ingredients list below is adjusted to reflect cutting back the amount of broth and corn starch by half. This should give the cauliflower more of a glaze than a broth.

Braised Cauliflower with Garlic and Scallions

• Servings: 4
• Time: 30 min
• Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

• 4-6 oz. thick-cut bacon, cut crosswise into ½-inch pieces
• 3 medium garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 2- to 2½-lb. head cauliflower, trimmed and cut into 1-inch florets
• 1 cups chicken broth, preferably homemade
• 1 Tbsp. cornstarch
• Kosher salt and ground black pepper
• 1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced on the diagonal
• Optional garnish: Chili oil OR hot sauce

Directions

1. In a 12-inch skillet, cook the bacon, stirring occasionally, until browned and crisp. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until lightly browned.
2. Stir in the cauliflower and broth. Cover, bring to a simmer and cook until the florets are tender.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water. Stir the cornstarch slurry into the cauliflower mixture and cook, stirring, until the sauce returns to a simmer and has thickened.
4. Season with salt and pepper, then stir in the scallions.

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Recipe by Calvin Cox for Milk Street