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Contigo’s alternate take Valentine’s Day dining
In last week’s 360 entertainment tab, freelancer Claire Canavan gave us a glimpse at the friendship, world travels and culinary aesthetic that went into Contigo, the mostly outside restaurant near Airport Boulevard in East Austin that taking a slightly different approach to Valentine’s Day, which is easily one of the busiest eating-out nights of the year.
Instead of offering prix-fixe menus or candle-lit dining, the restaurant owned by Ben Edgerton, left, and Andrew Wiseheart will serve a communal, family-style dinner. “Singles, couples, or larger groups can socialize with their friends or meet new people while passing plates of roasted chicken with turnips and greens, preserved lemon ricotta gnocchi, or creme puffs with lavender honey ice cream,” Canavan writes. “It’s an event that makes perfect sense for Contigo. The name — “with you” in Spanish — reflects the restaurant’s constant focus on community and hospitality.”
Like many parents with small kids, we’ll be rocking Valentine’s Day at home tonight, but I have a head of cauliflower in the fridge that’s just begging to be cheesed up in a cauliflower gratin. Thanks for Contigo chef Andrew Wiseheart for sharing the recipe.
Cauliflower Gratin
For the cream reduction:
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 cup white wine
2 cups cream
For gratin
2 cups cauliflower florets, blanched
1 Tbsp. sliced almonds
1 tsp. capers
1 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
1 tsp. currants, rehydrated in white wine
1 tsp. reduced balsamic vinegar
In a small saute pan over medium high heat, saute garlic cloves in olive oil, add wine and reduce until almost dry. Add cream and reduce by a third.
In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, combine the cream reduction with the rest of the ingredients until cheese is melted and cauliflower is glazed. Spoon into a cast iron serving dish and top with Parmesan.
— Chef Andrew Wiseheart, Contigo Austin
Photo by Ralph Barrera.
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