CAULIFLOWER
A cauliflower has pretty, white florets, but every part of this vegetable is edible: The leafy part can be salad, the outer layer crumbs, and the stem forms the basis of a delicious chunky soup.
Keep in mind
Cauliflower is a very sweet vegetable that works well with highly flavored spices such as cumin, turmeric and coriander. Take a look at Indian cuisine.
Store cauliflower in a plastic bag because it’s sensitive to ethylene gas from other vegetables and goes brown quickly.
If you have a lot of cauliflower, parboil it and freeze it for soups and purées.
How to cook cauliflower
Don’t cook cauliflower at all or cook it carefully by steaming, stir frying or parboiling, in other words only cook it very briefly. If you’re not making cauliflower soup or a cauliflower purée, the florets need to be soft all the way through.
Give raw cauliflower a chance too. You don’t need to break it up into large florets, it’s more fun to slice them thinly and eat with a good olive oil and sea salt.
Deep fried cauliflower is amazing. Here’s how: Quickly boil the cauliflower. Make a batter from egg, flour, milk, salt and pepper. Coat the florets in the batter. Dip in hot oil until golden brown. Drain on kitchen towel and add salt.
Run through a food processor to make “cauliflower rice” and use it to replace couscous or rice. Stop in time so that the cauliflower isn’t ground into powder.
Pickled cauliflower is a crisp side dish. Cut the head into small florets and bring to the boil – but only just – in a 1-2-3 solution. Onion in wedges, coriander seeds and cumin make good company.
Quickly pickle the stem: Slice thinly and place in 4 tbsp vinegar, 4 tbsp sugar and 6 tbsp water an hour before your guests arrive and guess what they are eating.
Steam cauliflower! If you don’t have a steamer, it’s fine to use a saucepan insert or a sieve. Divide the head into evenly sized florets and sprinkle some salt flakes on afterwards.
Make cauliflower soup: Fry chopped onion and garlic – perhaps with garam masala or curry – pour stock over the top and add a cauliflower, cut into florets. Boil for 10 minutes and then run through a food processor. Drizzle a little basil or chili oil over the top when serving.
Small cauliflower florets go well in a stir fry. Put them in towards the end so they don’t lose their crunch.
Turn boiled florets into cauliflower purée. A knob of butter, a little salt and a dash of lemon make this side dish complete.
Oven-baked cauliflower will be a bit more exciting if you toss the florets in garam masala, oil and sea salt. Put the cauliflower in the oven for approximately 20 minutes at 190°C.
The classic
Cauliflower purée – a perfect side dish.
