4 Great Ways to Cook Cauliflower

Wednesday is Recipe Day at Cooking Manager.

Please welcome Yosefa Huber for today’s guest post.  Yosefa lives in Israel with her three young children and shares her kitchen experiences on Cooking Outside the BoxYou may remember Yosefa from when I interviewed her.

Growing up, I hated cauliflower.  But my father-in-law eats it every day.  So when he came to visit this summer I started experimenting. I’d like to share some preparation methods you might not have thought of.

Despite its lack of color, cauliflower is highly nutritious.  Steaming, microwaving, or enjoying it raw preserves the most nutrients.

mashed cauliflour stems

Mashed – In the past, I tossed the tough stalks.  Try simmering them in a little water with chopped garlic.  Then mash and season to taste with additions such as chives, butter, cream, herbs de provence, or curry powder.

make cauliflower marinade in a zippered plastic bag

Marinated – Mix equal parts vinegar and sugar, then add a little oil and salt.  Mix in a zip-top bag or container with bite-size pieces of cauliflower and let sit in the fridge.  (Alternatively, warm on the stove or microwave to speed up the process.)  Great for snacking!

roasted cauliflour

Roasted – Toss with olive oil and chopped garlic and roast on a baking sheet for 30-45 minutes.  My kids and I gobbled this up before we had time to plate it, and even my husband said it was surprisingly delicious.

stir-fried cauliflour

Stir Fried – I like to make a sweet teriyaki marinade by mixing soy sauce, date syrup (or another sweetener like molasses, sugar, or agave syrup), cider vinegar, oil, powdered ginger, and sesame seeds.  Mix in a container or zip-top bag with cauliflower and re-mix several times over an hour or more.  Dump into a hot pan and fry until tender.

All of the above suggestions can be mixed with other veggies, noodles, tofu, or chicken.  But, sometimes its nice to let humble little cauliflower steal the show!

You might also like these posts by Yosefa: Sugar Slashing Sunday, Feeding Picky Eaters, and Best Podcasts of 2010 and How to Get Started.

Comments

  1. I roast it until it’s a touch burned–extra crispy. Can’t get my kids to touch it, but my husband and I eat an entire large head at a time.

  2. Let’s not forget raw with a dip or as a creme of soup (I mix broccoli and cauliflower).

  3. That’s funny, roasted cauliflower (slightly burned) is the one way my oldest daughter likes it.

    Other ideas: Grated and steamed, it can be a stand in for couscous. Steamed and mashed with potatoes- boosts nutrition of mashed potatoes and is tasty.

    I also add it to my vegetable soup and puree- it adds a creamy taste, even without adding cream.

  4. My son is usually the cauliflower eater, but my daughter LOVED the roasted cauliflower. She said, ” Mmmm, Mommy! What’s in this!?” But I missed out on my son’s standard compliment of, “Thank you for making this for me, Mommy.”

  5. Ms. Krieger says

    Hm. I should try to roast cauliflower recipe. It’s not a cheap vegetable around here, so we don’t buy multiple heads at a time. Any cauliflower we do get usually ends up steamed, then tossed with anchovies that have been cooked into a sauce with garlic and olive oil. Sometimes we add capers and hot pepper flakes. We eat it with whole wheat pasta. Definitely one of my husband’s favorite dinners. The cauliflower somehow mellows the anchovy taste into a yummy salty flavor.

  6. I LOVE cooked cauliflower! I don’t remember eating it until I came to Israel (but I do remember my mom wanting me to eat it raw :P) A friend fried it and put it in a a pita with a handful of parsley with some salt.

  7. I generally make it in one of three ways – roasted, as you do, with a variety of different seasonings (curry and smoked paprika are two favorite options); as a pasta sauce, like Ms. Krieger does (I agree that the anchovies really make the dish); or as gobi taktakin, where it’s steamed or boiled until tender, (I frequently add in other vegetables, like chunks of potato or carrot), broken into florets, briefly sauteed with cumin seeds and garam masala or curry powder, and finished with a squeeze of lemon.

  8. I really like all these suggestions, sometimes checking it can be a daunting task and I need a little motivation!

  9. I use it as a meat substitute in chili.

    I love cauliflower! IMHO It is a great unsung hero of the vegetable world.

  10. Cauliflower cheese – a family favourite.

  11. I never buy cauliflower. I only make it as cauliflower cheese, or soup. None of the kids like cauliflower cheese.

    But I’m so glad I saw that you posted this today, I was at the supermarket this evening, and cauliflowers were REALLY cheap. I bought 2 large heads, for under 5 shekel altogether, with a view to trying some of these (non)recipes.

    Looking forward to widening my cauliflower repertoire! Thanks!

  12. Cut the cauliflower into small pieces and steam, mix into your favorite mac and cheese recipe, your kids won’t even realize it’s there. My kids love roasted cauliflower and told me next time to roast it before putting it in the mac and cheese so it would have more flavor.

  13. Sharron Clemons says

    Hm. I should try to roast cauliflower recipe. It’s not a cheap vegetable around here, so we don’t buy multiple heads at a time. Any cauliflower we do get usually ends up steamed, then tossed with anchovies that have been cooked into a sauce with garlic and olive oil. Sometimes we add capers and hot pepper flakes. We eat it with whole wheat pasta. Definitely one of my husband’s favorite dinners. The cauliflower somehow mellows the anchovy taste into a yummy salty flavor.

  14. I know this sounds boring, but I love steamed cauliflower. I steam it and salt it and I really enjoy it, but for the kids, I add some melted cheddar and everyone’s happy!

  15. Another, fancier thing to do with cauliflower is to slice it longitudinally, from top to stalk end, into ‘steaks.’ They make a very pretty Shabbos appetizer when sauteed, then roasted, as here: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Cauliflower-Steaks-with-Cauliflower-Puree-241351

  16. Those all sound mouth-watering good! Like Channa, I usually skip cauliflower because I didn’t want to check it (which is silly, since I check Romaine lettuce all the time, and I just looked at the Star-K site for how to check cauliflower and it’s ridiculously easy. http://star-k.org/cons-vegdetail.php?ID=17). Cauliflower, here I come!

  17. I love fried cauliflower. My mum boils/steams cauliflower with salt, till it is tender (but not too soft), then puts the cauliflower in flour and then egg and then frys it. Its great!

  18. Terri at www.terriquitecontrary.com says

    Yum! I have a bag of cauliflower in my freezer, I think I’m going to try roasting it (I’ve never had it that way before) with a little curry power for some zip.

  19. Has anyone tried breading the cauliflower? In italian seasoning? And baking?

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  1. […] Please welcome Yosefa for today’s post on preschoolers. Check out her earlier post on 4 Great Ways to Cook Cauliflower. […]