Cauliflower and chocolate in pate choux

[cteavin]

I finally did it and it came out really well but the recipe still need some tweaking and I'm looking for suggestions from our member here.

I purred 350 grams of roasted cauliflower into a smooth past with 1/2 cup of water, a pinch of salt and a few twists of the pepper mill. I put 10 grams of gelatin into a 1/4 cup each of 35% cream and water and heated it in the microwave till it boiled then processed that into the cauliflower mixture until it was well incorporated. I whipped 1 cup of cream over ice until it was full volume and slowly added the (slightly warm) cauliflower mixture to the cream whipping it all in trying to minimize deflation; finally, I added 1/4 cup cacao nibs. When it was chilled I made the pate a choux but first melted the butter and sautéed 1 teaspoon of caraway seeds before adding the water to make the puffs. When they were done I filled the puffs with the cauliflower mixture -- voila!

Verdict: very good. You get the whiff of caraway when the puff comes to your mouth along with the crisp texture followed by the creamy soft mousse inside which comes as a surprise if you don't know you're getting a savory dish. Roasted cauliflower is it's own reward; the cacao nibs don't add their pinch of bitter flavor until the end but they add their crunch to the mousse an cleanse the palate of the cream and cauliflower. Finally, there's the breath of caraway to finish it. It's a really nice experience. It's not perfect, though. The cauliflower is a little too subtle, I think, and the mousse isn't light enough. I'm considering

1) double the cream to make it lighter

2) increase the salt to bring out the sweetness

3) dusting the tops with cocoa powder or powdered sugar

4) add a few drops of lime or something sour/acidic under the top

Those were some ideas on how to improve it. What do you all think?

fyi, the shells go really well with an olive oil/chocolate mousse I made.

[Kerry Beal]

Would it work with roasted cauliflower to boost the flavour?

[cteavin]

Would it work with roasted cauliflower to boost the flavour?

Well,I kind of mention that in the second paragraph.

[Kerry Beal]

Would it work with roasted cauliflower to boost the flavour?

Well,I kind of mention that in the second paragraph.

Duh, wake me up when we get there! Totally missed that and pictured steamed cauliflower. How nice and dark did you roast it? Did it reach that crunchy potato chip like stage?

[cteavin]

Roasted Cauliflower has become my favorite vegetable. I just took some out of the oven. The florrets are all a nice crispy brown that goes crunch, crunch, crunch when you pop it in your mouth. So, they were pretty well cooked when they went in the processor.

What do you think of adding a few drops of lemon or lime juice on top of the mousse before I cap it? I'll be trying that later after I get some more puffs out of the oven. Ah, dinner: another reason to go to the gym.

[beandork]

For the cauliflower, remove the stems and keep the florets. Put the florets into a freezer bag with a few knobs of butter, suck the air out best as you can and tie them up, then put the bag into a pot of simmering water for 20 minutes. In the meantime put the stems into a small saucepan of salted water and boil to create some cauliflower flavoured water (only really needs to be done for about 10 minutes).

Put the cauliflower florets and butter into a blender and blend. It will probably get stuck due to not enough liquid so add the cauliflower water a few teaspoons at a time and keep blending until you've got a smooth puree.

Trust me, the cauliflower taste won't be particularly subtle

[loki]

Cauliflower is maybe my favorite vegetable - or at least it's my go to vege. I love asparagus, artichokes, and snow peas (that I grow myself); but I could eat Cauliflower every day!

So, this recipe just seems wrong. But I could be wrong? Cauliflower has that sulpherous cabbage thing, which I just don't see with chocolate. But.... Chocolate nibs, not sweet or very subtle.

Anyway - roasting could do it, but the flavor of roasted cauliflower is basically a roasted/burnt sugar flavor, not really cauliflower.

I don't see a solution to the flavor - but I do to the texture. I would take some of the cauliflower and roast it - but not till soft - and mince. The texture may be just the thing? The texture should not be crunchy, but al dente - and with the crunchy cocoa nibs, maybe perfect?

I don't think lime would work here.