How to cook cauliflower: 10 great recipes

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Marinate, bake, sauté in beer batter, add to salad, lasagne or pudding and enjoy.

1. Marinated cauliflower in the oven

Ingredients

• 1 head of cauliflower;
• 1 lemon;
• 2 cloves of garlic;
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
• 1 tablespoon of chopped onions;
• 1 tablespoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 120 ml Greek yogurt or coconut milk
• 120 ml olive or melted butter;
• a few sprigs of parsley.

Preparation

Remove the leaves from the cauliflower and place in a plastic bag. Combine lemon juice, minced garlic, ginger, onion, turmeric, salt and yogurt. Pour the marinade into a bag, close it and shake well. Place the bag in the refrigerator for at least an hour. To marinate the cabbage better, leave it in the refrigerator overnight.

Transfer the pickled cauliflower to a baking sheet and bake in an oven preheated to 180 ° C for 45-60 minutes. It should soften on the inside and brown on the outside.

Drizzle the cabbage with oil and sprinkle with chopped parsley leaves before serving.

2. Cauliflower in beer batter

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon of cumin (cumin);
• 2 teaspoon mustard seeds
• ½ teaspoon chili powder;
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns;
• 200 g self-rising flour (or 200 g regular flour and 1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoon baking powder)
• ½ teaspoon turmeric
• 350 ml of cold beer;
• sea salt to taste;
• 1 head of cauliflower;
• ½ cup olive oil
• ½ bunch of parsley;
• 1 lemon.

Preparation

Grind the cumin, mustard seeds, chili and black pepper well in a mortar. Mix the resulting powder with flour and turmeric. Pour in almost all of the beer and beat thoroughly. In consistency, the batter should resemble heavy cream. If it's too thick, add more beer. Then season the batter with sea salt.

Disassemble the cauliflower into small inflorescences, and cut the stalk into 2 cm thick pieces. Rinse the cabbage and discard in a colander. Any excess liquid should drain off. Remaining water can be blotted off with a paper towel. Place the cabbage in a bowl and sprinkle with plain flour.

Heat oil in a deep saucepan. Remove excess flour from cauliflower. Dip the inflorescences in batter, transfer to hot oil and fry until golden brown, turning occasionally.

Do not try to stuff all the cabbage into the stewpan at once. Fry it in batches.

At the end, dip the parsley leaves in the batter and place in a saucepan with butter for 40 seconds.

Transfer the cooked cabbage to a paper towel to drain off excess fat. Season with salt, drizzle with lemon juice and garnish with parsley in batter.

Serve immediately to make the dish tastier and keep the crust crisp.

3. Italian lasagna with cauliflower

Ingredients

• 1 large head of cauliflower (approx. 1200 g)
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• sea salt to taste;
• 800 g of tomatoes in their own juice;
• 1 ½ cups of water
• 5 cloves of garlic;
• 1 large red pepper;
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 bunch of basil
• 10 sheets for lasagna;
• 200 g ricotta;
• 1 large egg;
• 200 g grated mozzarella;
• 50 g grated parmesan;
• a few sprigs of parsley.

Preparation

Place the cauliflower blossoms in a bowl, drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and season with salt. Mix well and place the cabbage in one layer on a baking sheet. Bake in an oven preheated to 220 ° C for 30–35 minutes, until the buds are soft and lightly browned. Turn the inflorescences once during cooking. Then cool the cabbage.

Place the tomatoes in a bowl and mash them. Pour water into a tomato jar, shake and pour the contents into a bowl.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet and add 4 chopped garlic cloves and ½ teaspoon salt. Broil over medium heat for 2 minutes. Place the diced peppers in the skillet and cook for another 8 minutes.

Add tomato paste to vegetables and mix well. Then lay out the tomatoes and 4 basil leaves. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. The sauce should thicken.

Meanwhile, bring salted water to a boil in a large saucepan. Place the lasagna sheets in a saucepan one at a time and cook until al dente according to package directions. Flip the sheets in a colander to drain the water. Then brush them with the remaining olive oil.

Grind ricotta, raw egg, ⅕ cooked cauliflower and minced garlic clove in a blender until smooth. Add chopped basil leaves to this mixture and grind it again in a blender.

Take a baking dish about 20 × 35 cm. Grease it with ¼ cup tomato sauce. Place 4 lasagna sheets on top, cutting off any excess. Place ¹⁄₂ ricotta mixture, ¹⁄₂ cooked cauliflower, ⅓ tomato sauce mixture, ⅓ grated mozzarella and ⅓ grated Parmesan on top of them. Cover with three lasagna sheets, repeat filling and cover with remaining sheets. Top with tomato sauce, mozzarella and parmesan.

Cover the tin with foil and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Then remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes, until the cheese is browned. Allow the lasagne to cool for 10 minutes before serving to make it easier to cut, and sprinkle with chopped parsley leaves.

4. Cauliflower in the oven

Ingredients

• 1 head of cauliflower;
• 2 teaspoons of cumin (cumin);
• 2 teaspoons whole coriander
• ¼ a teaspoon of ground chili;
• sea salt to taste;
• some olive oil;
• 1 slice of butter;
• a handful of raw almonds without hulls;
• 1 lemon.

Preparation

Disassemble the cauliflower into florets. Dip them in boiling salted water for a couple of minutes and drain them in a colander. All excess liquid must drain, otherwise the cabbage will not bake properly.

Chop the cumin and coriander. Mix them with chili powder and salt. Add chopped almonds to the spices, stir and fry in a dry preheated pan. After a couple of minutes, put the cauliflower inflorescences there, after rubbing them with a mixture of olive and butter.

When the cabbage begins to brown, add the juice and lemon zest to it. Stir well and fry for another minute. Then move the skillet to the 200 ° C preheated oven for 15 minutes until the cauliflower is crispy.

5. Baked cauliflower with broccoli cheese sauce

Ingredients

• 2 cloves of garlic;
• 50 g unsalted butter;
• 50 g sifted flour;
• 600 ml semi-skim milk;
• 500 g fresh or frozen broccoli
• 75 g grated cheddar cheese;
• sea salt to taste;
• 1 kg fresh or frozen cauliflower
• 2 slices of ciabatta;
• 2 sprigs of thyme;
• 25 g almond petals;
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Preparation

Cut the garlic into thin slices, transfer to a skillet with butter and sauté over medium heat. When the butter is melted, add flour, stir and after a minute start pouring in milk gradually, stirring constantly.

Place broccoli in a skillet and simmer for about 20 minutes, until buds begin to break apart. Then grind this mixture with a blender until smooth. Add half of the grated cheese and salt.

Disassemble the cauliflower into florets, place in a baking dish, pour over the cheese mixture and sprinkle with the remaining grated cheese. Grind the bread in a blender, combine the bread crumbs with chopped thyme leaves, almond petals and butter, and sprinkle on the cabbage.

Place the dish in an oven preheated to 180 ° C for an hour. The cabbage should be well baked and golden brown.

6. Cauliflower cream soup

Ingredients

• 1 slice of butter;
• 1 large onion
• 1 large head of cauliflower (about 900 g);
• 1 potato;
• 700 ml vegetable broth;
• 400 ml of milk;
• salt to taste;
• ground black pepper - to taste;
• 100 grams of cheddar cheese.

Preparation

Heat the oil in a deep saucepan or saucepan. Place the chopped onion there and, stirring occasionally, fry for 5 minutes until softened.

Disassemble the cauliflower into florets. Peel the potatoes and cut them into cubes. Add vegetables to onions, cover with broth and milk, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for half an hour. The cauliflower should soften and the potatoes should fall into pieces.

Whisk the contents of the pan with a blender until smooth and creamy. If you want to serve the soup in mugs, add a little more milk so that it is not too thick.

Ready soup can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two days, and in the freezer for up to a month.

Preheat the soup before serving, pour into bowls or mugs and garnish with cheese cubes or herbs.

7. Cauliflower puree

Ingredients

• 1 head of cauliflower;
• 2 glasses of water;
• 3 tablespoons of milk;
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 tablespoons of low-fat sour cream;
• ¼ teaspoon of garlic salt;
• ground black pepper - to taste;
• a few feathers of green onions.

Preparation

Disassemble the cauliflower into florets and remove the stalk. Bring the water to a boil and place the inflorescences in a saucepan. Cover and simmer over medium heat for 12-15 minutes. The cabbage should be very soft.

Discard the inflorescences in a colander to drain excess water. Mix the cabbage with milk, butter, sour cream, salt and pepper until puree. Garnish with chopped green onions before serving.

8. Salad with cauliflower, bacon and peas

Ingredients

• 1 head of cauliflower;
• 3 eggs;
• 3 slices of bacon;
• 50 ml mayonnaise;
• 1 tablespoon of mustard
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ground black pepper - to taste;
• 1 onion;
• ¾ glasses of frozen peas;
• 2 pickles.

Preparation

Disassemble the cabbage into inflorescences and cut into small pieces. Put them in a pot of water, bring to a boil and boil for another 10 minutes. Place the cabbage in a colander and cool.

Hard boil the eggs and cut into small cubes. Fry the bacon and cut into small pieces. In a salad bowl, combine mayonnaise, mustard, salt and pepper. Place cauliflower, eggs, chopped onions, thawed peas, diced cucumbers and bacon in it.

Stir well and refrigerate for 2-24 hours. The longer the salad is in the refrigerator, the tastier it will be.

9. Salad with pickled cauliflower and carrots

Ingredients

• 60 ml red wine vinegar;
• 60 ml olive oil;
• 2 tablespoons of water;
• 1 kg of cauliflower;
• 1 bay leaf;
• 1 clove of garlic;
• ½ teaspoon lemon pepper;
• 100 g grated carrots;
• 50 g chopped red onions;
• a few sprigs of parsley;
• ¼ teaspoon dried basil.

Preparation

In a small saucepan, bring the vinegar, oil, and water to a boil. Place cauliflower, bay leaf, thinly sliced garlic and lemon pepper in a large saucepan.

Pour the contents of a saucepan into a saucepan and stir. Place a lid on the pot and refrigerate overnight or at least 6 hours. Stir the cabbage occasionally.

Then add the carrots, onions, chopped parsley and basil and mix well. Refrigerate the salad for another 2 hours. Remove the bay leaves from the salad before serving.

10. Chocolate pudding with cauliflower

Ingredients

• 600 g cauliflower inflorescences;
• 400 ml of plant milk (such as soy or coconut);
• 70 g cocoa;
• 10 dates;
• ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract or ¼ teaspoon of vanillin.

Preparation

Steam the inflorescences for 10-15 minutes, until very soft. Combine all ingredients in a blender until smooth.

You can serve the dish immediately, or you can chill it first. The pudding is stored in the refrigerator for no longer than a day.