Cauliflower, the new "it" vegetable

[gulfporter]

At least that's the take from the Food Section of this week's Washington Post. 

 

They included a recipe for 'Cauliflower Rice' by Ellie Krieger, in which grated cauliflower is the only 'rice' in

the dish.  

 

My DH and I are big cauli fans.  

 

We use whipped cauli as faux mashed potatoes (and have had to convince guests they aren't real spuds).  

 

We also cut large thin slices of the whole head, smear with olive oil and s&p, then grill...they look like a large cross-section of a brain specimen and the grill marks against the white flesh is very appealing.  

 

What are you doing with cauliflower these days?  

Edited November 6, 2014 by gulfporter (log)

[cakewalk]

Roasted cauliflower is sort of an eGullet icon.

 

How do you grate cauliflower? Sounds dangerous to the knuckles.

[CatPoet]

Curry, I am making curry with it  on saturday

[rotuts]

the WP a bit late to this game.

[gfweb]

the WP a bit late to this game.

Kale will be their next up and coming veg.

[Katie Meadow]

I eat a LOT of cauliflower, typically in curry or with red sauce over pasta. For the latter I always sauté it in olive oil or butter or a combo of both, with salt and pepper and then garlic, then combine it briefly with a basic red sauce and spoon it on a bowl of pasta, finished with a blizzard (or less) of pecorino. The other day I made a curry starring cauliflower and kale. Excellent combo. Also a very good combo: eggs and cauliflower. Leftover cauliflower is great in scrambled eggs, especially curried. Recently I've been making a Marcella Hazan cauliflower dish that uses a little onion, green olives and a tomato--super simple. The recipe calls for boiling the cauliflower first, but I find boiled cauliflower pretty insipid, so I sauté it for her recipe instead.

In the days when I ate cheese with abandon I was crazy for a dish that was a sort of cauliflower parm, but without the hassle of battering or frying. The cauliflower was baked in large chunks with red sauce and mozz, really easy. Great for a gluten-free person.

Am I the only person who adores cauliflower and detests broccoli?

[ElainaA]

My husband loves his mother's version - the cauliflower is lightly steamed in a saute pan, cooked dry then sautéed in olive oil with onions and garlic. In my opinion, cooked until it is WAY over cooked - but that's how she cooked it and that's how he likes it. That's what he made for himself last night since I was on a restricted diet.

 

My favorite is a vegetable curry with cauliflower, potatoes and peas. I need to pick the last cauliflower from my garden since it is supposed to snow tomorrow night.

 

Elaina

[gulfporter]

Count me as another broccoli hater, but cauliflower adorer.  

 

I also saute chopped cauliflower in olive oil until almost caramelized, then add butter and panko until well-browned; sprinkle liberally over fettuccine alfredo.  

[jmacnaughtan]

Soup, mostly.

[cakewalk]

I hope this link works. 14 pages of roasted cauliflower!

 

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/31042-roasted-cauliflower/page-14?hl=cauliflower#entry1955808

[Dejah]

I grate cauliflower in my food processor, cooked in the microwave without ANY

[CatPoet]

http://www.cookingandme.com/2007/10/gobi-peas-masala.html

 

This was the recipe I used and it was lovely.

[ahpadt]

Pot-roasted cauliflower like this is amazing.

[c oliver]

We did something new with cauliflower yesterday.  We were doing half artichoke hearts wrapped in a 1/4 piece of bacon and then deep fried.  Did it with cauliflower and it was terrific.

[AlaMoi]

I'm not a big Martha fan - she did give my grandparents place a nice review ('cuze the name dropping....) - however this is really good

 

http://www.marthastewart.com/893511/cauliflower-and-leek-gratin

 

I use light cream vs. whole milk.

[Jenny@SnP]

Ahh...I actually never thought that Cauliflower which often hidden under the blanket of cheese sauce could turn into a hot veggie recipe. Dad's coming this weekend so me and mom are planning to have balsamic & parmesan roasted cauliflower. I never tried cooking this recipe neither mom. But I recently watched cooking TV shows and they were cooking this. We got interested so we'll try having it this weekend.

Edited November 25, 2014 by Jenny@SnP (log)

[CatPoet]

I do make  Cauliflower baked under  cheese sauce, bread crumbs and  bacon crisp once a year, when the cauliflower is just in season.  I love it.

[Jenny@SnP]

I do make  Cauliflower baked under  cheese sauce, bread crumbs and  bacon crisp once a year, when the cauliflower is just in season.  I love it.

 

I would love to see that Cauliflower baked under the cheese sauce you make. Can you share some pictures if you happen to bake some again?

[CatPoet]

Jenny: cauliflower season is over now, so it is a year before I make it again.

[Thanks for the Crepes]

I bought today the largest cauliflower I've ever seen. It's 9-1/2" radius in one direction, and 8-1/2 " rad. in the other. The lateral circumference is 21-1/8", (bigger by a little than Scarlet O'hara's waist)  and it measures 8" rad. from top to bottom.

 

Should have weighed it on the scale in the produce department, but didn't because it was being sold by the piece for only $2.99. I estimate this monster weighs between 4 and 5 pounds.

 

It's snow white, and destined to be roasted, probably only half at the go though since it's easily twice as big a a normal specimen, which takes two baking trays.

 

I wish I had a camera and a way to download the pic, because I know you can't believe me without evidence.

 

This guy is branded FOXY out of  Salinas, CA. They have a website: www.foxy.com, which I haven't had time to explore.

 

I showed my husband what I got, and he hadn't ever seen one that big either, and he's ten years older than I.

 

I wonder what's going on with the growing conditions that is allowing this aberration?

 

Some veggies are definitely degraded by growing overlarge, but this appears at least to the eye to not come under that fold. I'll check back later, after roasting, and give a more informed opinion.

 

Maybe some others are getting these double big cauliflowers? Please communicate if you get or even see one.

[gfweb]

Perhaps it was harvested late. End of season cabbage can get huge

[AlaMoi]

a long growing season helps - they do just keep growing....

 

you might not immediately suspect it, but Alaska grows some of the biggest.  they get many hours of sunlight per day - even tho the number of days is less.

 

see #9 here

http://www.oddee.com/item_96650.aspx

 

but compare how good it looks with

http://giantgardening.com/rec_cauliflower.php

 

which is no longer the record holder.

 

UK has a long cool climate for brassicas.

[TheCulinaryLibrary]

In the 70's I remember making a salad (adventurous for those times) with steamed cauli flowerettes,

chopped dates, chopped bananas and mayonnaise!

Nobody in my family likes this flavor combination today though.

[CatPoet]

I like the purple and yellow ones too, they look cool and have a slightly different taste.

[Martin Fisher]

Cauliflower is a big deal for some of us who minimize sugars and starches.

Cauliflower gratin is great.