How to cook cauliflower: simple, fast and delicious recipes

Cauliflower is a vegetable very curious and versatile in the kitchen. That white mass that we eat is a flower head, like broccoli, but compact and fleshy. It is from the same family as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, kale, collard greens, mustard… forming the group we call “cruciferous”.

In general, cauliflowers are very rich in fiber, vitamin C, vitamin K, vitamin B6, folic acid, pantothenic acid, potassium and manganese. They also contain good amounts of thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, magnesium, and phosphorus. And although it is a vegetable, it has an interesting protein content: about 2 grams per 100.

In markets and flea markets we can find cauliflower in season from fall to mid-spring. And not only the white one, which is “the one of a lifetime”, also green, orange or purple varieties.
All these varieties they taste almost the same, just with different undertones.

the green one it tastes a bit more like broccoli, while purple can be a bit more bitter (a bit red cabbage-like).orange cauliflower It owes its color to beta-carotene (like carrots), and thanks to these it is richer in vitamin A than white.purple cauliflower contains anthocyanins, such as red cabbage, black beans, blackberries, or black grapes.

The best cauliflower for cooking

When you go to buy cauliflower, look at these details to choose the best one:

That the head is always tight, not open. If it is white or yellow, that no greening be seen among the florets. The fresher the leaves look, the better.

How to preserve cauliflower before cooking

We can leave the cauliflower out of the fridge for 24 hours if it’s cold, although it is their thing to keep it in the fridge, in the vegetable drawer. A well-stored fresh cauliflower can last us 1 week quietly, although its thing is to consume it as soon as possible:

you can put it in a paper bagbut always with holesbecause if the air does not circulate, it will begin to accumulate humidity and it will go bad very quickly. If you want to freeze it, you only have to divide it into medium florets and blanch it for 2-4 minutes (depending on the size of the florets). After cooling it well, we drain it, dry it and it is ready to freeze, always in suitable containers. Frozen cauliflower will always tend to be softer than fresh, but it works perfectly for most of the dishes we want to make.

7 delicious cauliflower recipes

The good thing about cauliflower is that it is so versatile that we can do whatever we want with it. In addition to eating it raw, we can prepare cauliflower with very simple cooking.

1. Cauliflower crumbs or fake cauliflower rice

Prepared with fresh cauliflower. We only have to grate it with a grater with large holes and use it just as if it were rice or couscous, mixing it with vegetables, legumes, olives, pickles, etc.

If we want we can also heat this false rice or couscous, it will take only a couple of minutes in the pan with very little oil, and it will develop very good smoky flavors.

2. Cauliflower Bolognese

In the same way as in the previous case, but adding a little soy sauce, garlic, thyme and oregano, we can brown that grated cauliflower to make a quick and easy cauliflower bolognese.

Treat it the same as if it were fine textured soybeans, but without adding water. When it is golden, add the soy sauce and stir well. Then the tomato sauce. Serve it with your pasta dishes.

3. Baked cauliflower

roasted cauliflower It is very good both to eat and as an accompaniment. as to incorporate into other meals. We can do it in two ways: in florets or whole.

To roast a whole cauliflower we have to remove all the leaves, wash it and place it in a baking dish. We will brush it with a little olive oil and spices and herbs that do not burn when cooked in the oven (rosemary, thyme, etc.). If we cover it with aluminum foil at least half of cooking, much better. In total it will be ready in about 35 minutes, depending on the size of the cauliflower. If we divide the cauliflower into florets we will have it ready in approximately 20 minutes. You just have to go arranging the pieces on a baking tray and spray with a little olive oil, salt and the spices you want. Roasted cauliflower can be added to the dishes we want. It is a good resource to have in the fridge and use for any dish, making it faster.

4. Fried cauliflower

Fried cauliflower is especially exquisite for the flavor and aroma that it develops due to the Maillard reactions. We can fry the cauliflower with a little oil (just enough to cover the bottom of the pan) or with a lot of oil (deep fry). We just have to divide it into florets and add to the oil (the pieces that fit).

In about 5 minutes we will have golden cauliflower, crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside, which is great for us both as a complementary dish and to accompany legume dishes and vegetables.

One of the advantages of making grated cauliflower raw, sautéed, fried or baked is that we avoid the sulfurous smell that we notice when we boil it. The compounds that cause these odors are water-soluble, and they multiply the more we cut the cauliflower and the more we boil it, so any other cooking method will avoid this stench.

5. Steamed cauliflower

When we steam the cauliflower it also smells much less. It’s a good idea for example when we go to make creams and purees, since it does not dissolve in the cooking water.

Steam your cauliflower separately, divided into florets, just until tender (4-6 minutes depending on size) and add to pot to mash everything together. Steamed cauliflower is also great on its own. You can serve it seasoned with fried garlic, lemon juice, tahini, peanut butter, a vinaigrette that you like, etc.

6. Boiled cauliflower

Boiled cauliflower is not the most attractive way to cook it, but it is very useful in stews, stews, creams and purees, because we add all the ingredients together and let it cook. Of course, if you want more flavor, brown it first.

7. Cauliflower Steaks

You can also make “Cauliflower Steaks” taking advantage of its firm texture:

Cut the cauliflower into thick slices and brown them. to the pan with a little oil and spices to your liking. You can add a little soy sauce, teriyaki or yakitori at the end of cooking, for more flavor.Serve these steaks with salad and legumes for a full plate.