An embarrassment of cauliflower

[puglogic]

My husband has brought home a gigantic sack o'cauliflower from a friend at work.

I love to make creamy roasted cauliflower soup. Curried cauliflower soup. Um...."riced" cauliflower, mashed cauliflower.

Any other ideas out there, hopefully ones that freeze well?

Tune in next week for my sequel, "An embarrassment of winter squash". THAT I know what to do with, at least. :D

[lmerullo]

My first thought was, "oh, is that the plural of cauliflower? Who knew?"

I guess I am a traditionalist, in that I like it raw - or maybe with a little dip. I guess it doesn't store long-term, though, and if you have that much, then you will be seeking uses for frozen or canned forms.

[JaneV2.0]

Lucky you! I'd just section up the heads, blanch them and freeze most of them for later use.

I use cauliflower for faux fried rice (with BBQ pork, scrambled egg, and green onion), fauxtato salad, Indian-inspired stews, faux twice-baked potato (lots of cheese and bacon), crudites (with other raw vegetables and dip), clam chowder (instead of potato), sub for rice in many dishes...the possibilities are endless. I generally go through at least a head a week.

[rodeosweetheart]

I just bought a gluten free cookbook where the guy uses mashed cauliflower with eggs to make a pizza crust. Here is another version of a recipe for this:

http://www.recipegirl.com/2012/01/16/cauliflower-crust-hawaiian-pizza/

I can't wait to try it!

[AmeliaJane]

I have a low-carb cookbook with a macaroni and cheese recipe where the macaroni is reduced and cauliflower and pinto beans are added to bulk up the recipe. It is good, low-guilt comfort food! Also, roasted cauliflower is excellent, and it uses up a lot because roasting to the brown stage reduces the volume a lot.

[JaneV2.0]

You can also pickle it (as in giardiniere).

[puglogic]

Oooh! Awesome ideas!

I hadn't even considered pickling, for example. mmmmm.

Jane, do you use a ricer or a food processor to chop up your cauliflower into "rice" ?

[winterberry]

My mother used to steam it and smother it with toasted buttered bread crumbs, and I still like it that way.

[JaneV2.0]

Oooh! Awesome ideas!

I hadn't even considered pickling, for example. mmmmm.

Jane, do you use a ricer or a food processor to chop up your cauliflower into "rice" ?

I've tried a ricer, with no success. Usually, I put big raw chunks in the food processor and whiz it into a sawdust-sized grind. Occasionally I cook it first, then whiz it.

[bunnys]

Uh, I don't think I've eaten cauliflower (or even pretended to eat it) since my mother made it as a kid well over 40 years ago.

Don't think I've thought about it much in 40 years, either--with the exception of this thread.

Is it actually nutritious? I mean it's white.

[treehugger]

My favorite way to eat cauliflower is roasted (with olive oil, S&P), but that doesn't do well frozen and reheated.

bunnys, cauliflower has vitamins and fiber in it; yes it's very nutritious.

Kara

[Rosemary]

cut into florets, sprinkle with garam masala or curry powder, and roast.

[SteveinMN]

cauliflower has vitamins and fiber in it; yes it's very nutritious.
Cauliflower is one of those exceptions to the rule that "white food is bad for you". :) Of course, for those who prefer to keep the rule consistent, there's also purple cauliflower, orange cauliflower, and green "cauliflower" (romanesco).

[JaneV2.0]

It really has a nice nutritional profile, with lots of vitamin C and B-vitamins.

http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/cauliflower.html

[Tussiemussies]

We like it roasted too... If you are grouping to roast sprinkle a little lemon juice over to give some sugar...

[Wildflower]

I love cauliflower, but a little goes a long way. For some reason it can upset my stomach if I eat it more than 2 days in a row. It is pretty high fiber, but if you have IBS like I do, too much fiber can be a problem. I would be freezing alot of it for later use if I were you... :)

[Merski]

Cauliflower Marranka from the moosewood cookbook. Casserole with cheese and brown rice. I bet it would freeze well.

[puglogic]

More awesomeness! Thank you all.

[Tiam]

Uh, I don't think I've eaten cauliflower (or even pretended to eat it) since my mother made it as a kid well over 40 years ago.

Don't think I've thought about it much in 40 years, either--with the exception of this thread.

Is it actually nutritious? I mean it's white.


I thought Cauliflower was an exception. It's only white because they blanch it while it's growing.

[Float On]

love cauliflower but it doesn't love me. I get heart burn from it - can eat it once or twice a month but that's it.

[redfox]

Roasted with curry. Fabulous.

[JaneV2.0]

I had roasted cauliflower (along with roasted onion, cabbage, carrot) with corned beef tonight.

[ApatheticNoMore]

Sautee onions and garlic in olive oil, then add well a can of tomato sauce probably works best and is the recipe, but I've made this many times with just tomato paste (I prefer the ingredients - if using paste use quite a bit as your making a tomato sauce type base and add water as needed). Add some dried basil and oregano. Add equal parts zuchini and cauliflower. Cook until everything is soft and combined. Season to taste. Now this is a pretty good side dish as is, but I like to add cheese generously and melt it in (mozzerella or cheddar work well) and then yea you have a meal.

I don't by any means believe all white food are bad (yea and I better not buy white onions either), way too simple a rule, cauliflower is a crucifer with all that implies (some people can't handle crucifers in excess especially raw, but they do reduce cancer etc., they are basically healthy).

[JaneV2.0]

Here's a tasty-sounding recipe for cauliflower soup from allrecipes.com:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/low-carb-cauliflower-leek-soup/detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e11=cauliflower%20leek%20soup&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Home%20Page