Roasted or fried, smothered in cheese or spiced up with harissa, cauliflower is the ingredient of the year.
And why not? Cauliflower is versatile enough to be used everywhere: grilled like a steak, served au gratin, or as a mashed potato substitute, and even rolled into gluten-free pizza crust. How many foods can you say that about?
For decades, cauliflower lived in the shadow of its bright green cruciferous cousin, broccoli. Because of its pale color, cauliflower was incorrectly associated with a lack of nutrients. Well, that couldn't be further from the truth. These beautiful flower heads are a vitamin-rich, low-calorie vegetable that can behave like a carb replacing rice or potatoes in many recipes.
Cauliflower can now be found in markets in a rainbow of colors, from purple, yellow, green and even sci-fi varieties like Romanesco. It's certainly a favorite of professional chefs, who are using it to create exciting dishes like cauliflower cupcakes, cauliflower patties and cauliflower soup.
Cauliflower doesn't have tremendous water content, which lends itself to a variety of cooking methods: You can caramelize it, puree it, fry it or bake it. Cauliflower steaks (cut into 1-inch slices) are very easy to bake, broil and grill, and they remain light and moist throughout the cooking process. Try topping with a romesco, chimichurri, or pesto sauce.
Mash or puree boiled or steamed cauliflower with chicken broth and garlic, add shredded cheese and herbs, and you have a great substitute for mashed potatoes.
Roasting a whole head of cauliflower at high heat creates beautifully caramelized florets that can be enhanced by a drizzle of olive oil and sprinkling of capers and lemon juice.
Add fresh cauliflower florets to a food processor and pulse until you get small crumbles about the size of rice grains. Then saute in butter until softened (but not mushy). Season as you wish and use as you would rice.
The cooked "rice" can be pressed or rolled into a pizza crust or combined with eggs, soy sauce and scallions for fried rice.
Cauliflower is as delicious raw as it is cooked and is delightful in a salad or on a tray of crudites (raw vegetables) served with a dipping sauce.
