Cauliflower Risotto

We culled our tomatoes plants this weekend and brought them inside in the hope that a little warmth might turn a few red. It felt like the true end of summer, winter coats and scarves are now being pulled on and the winter veg has started arriving. Bags of dark green curly kale, cauliflower, broccoli and squashes all turned up in our veg box this week.

One of the things I love about getting a veg box is the monotony. Believe it or not, receiving cauliflower for the third week in a row forces you to get creative and try new things. Last year it was toasted cauliflower florets with crème fraîche and pasta or silky smooth soups livened up with cannellini beans. This year, I have a feeling this will be our staple. A Jamie Oliver recipe from his jaunt around Italy. A rich, creamy risotto, packed with little cauliflower florets and a crispy anchovy breadcrumbs sprinkled over. Not only will this make you love cauliflower, you will want to go out and but more cauliflower so that you can make it again.

Not much different from a classic risotto, all you do is cook the florets in the hot stock and add them towards the end, breaking them into the risotto as you go finishing with plenty of butter and a little parmesan. For the crunchy chilli pangrattato, simply whizz stale bread with a tin of anchovies and a little chili, then fry until golden. The full recipe is here. Read more...

Cauliflower Pasta

A reworking of this Cauliflower Pasta recipe taking inspiration from this recipe on 101cookbooks. Instead of braising the cauliflower, I stirfried it in a large frying pan with some onion until golden and nutty. Add some pasta and spoonful or two of creme fraiche to finish. Some chopped parsley, basil or toasted pine nuts would be a welcome addition here.

This is a great way to cook cauliflower. The key is patience, you need to stand over the pan for a good 5mins, turning the cauliflower regularly as it browns and tuns golden on each side, this is the key to giving the cauliflower the nutty caramelised flavour.

Try this as a base to a simple cauliflower curry, frying the cauliflower in curry powder and ading chopped tomatoes at the end.
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Creamy Cauliflower Pasta

I'm a big fan of fried vegetables plus creme fraiche plus pasta for tea. It's quick, easy and delicious. So, with yet another cauliflower to use up this week, I thought I'd give a similar treatment.

I had initially thought of making a cauliflower cheese (i.e. cheesy bechamel sauce) and adding pasta. But, instead sizzled some garlic in oil and butter in a frying pann, tumbled in cauliflower florets, gave them a quick stir and then poured in a little stock. On went the lid and the cauliflower was left to braise and soften in the tasty broth. Stir in cooked pasta, creme fraiche and cheese for all the tastiness of cauliflower cheese, but a little lighter and healthier.

Try this with a sturdier wholewheat pasta, or baked in the oven sprinkled with breadcrumbs.

Ingredients

Serves 4

350-400g wholewheat fusilli or penne
6 rashers streaky bacon, cut into small pieces
50g butter
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 head cauliflower, broken into small florets
125ml vegetable stock
1 small tub creme fraiche(about 300ml)
1 tsp english mustard
100g strong cheddar, grated

• Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling water until al dente.
• Meanwhile heat a large frying pan (that has a lid) and add the bacon. Cook for a few minutes until the bacon starts to brown.
• Add the butter and garlic, and stir. Throw in the cauliflower and stir well to coat. Season well and pour over the stock, turn the heat down, cover to braise for about 5mins until the cauliflower is soft.
• Pour the cauliflower onto the drained pasta along with the mustard, creme fraiche and cheese. Stir well and serve.

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Chunky Vegetable Soup

This is one of those meals that come together from random bits and bobs left in the fridge, thrown with abandon into a pan and seeing what comes out of it.

After the festivities of the weekend, I wanted something fairly light and preferably healthy. First up, we had a rather sad looking cauliflower that I planned on making soup with, cauliflower becomes deliciously creamy when pureed. Once blended, I chucked in some flagelot beans, shredded leftover cabbage and diced swede and simmered until the swede was soft.

We were left with a creamy, chunky soup packed full of veggies, topped with lots of black pepper, a drizzle of olive oil and some parsley for a savoury note. What follows is a rough recipe, this is obviously a cobbled together soup, so feel free to use whatever you have, diced carrot, shredded greens, sweetcorn. Rosemary or thyme would also be delicious or sliced spring onion.


Ingredients

Serves 4

2 onions, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, sliced
25g butter
1 cauliflower, broken into florets
700ml vegetable stock
1tsp dijon mustard
50ml double cream
handful shredded cabbage
approx 200g swede, finely diced
1 can flagelot beans, drained

• Heat a large saucepan with a splash of olive oil and add the butter.
• Once sizzling, add the onions and fry on medium for a few minutes until softened.
• Add the garlic and cauliflower and stir well.
• Pour over the stock, bring to the boil and simmer for 10-15mins until the cauliflower is really soft.
• Add the cream and mustard and blend until smooth.
• Add the beans, swede and cabbage and simmer for 15mins or so until the swede is soft.
• Serve with a drizzle of olive oil, a twist of pepper and whatever herbs you have handy. Try finely chopped thyme.

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Vegetable Curry

I spent the weekend visiting the family in Manchester. While I was obviously required to make brownies, we did most of our eating in some delicious restaurants. I came home yesterday to a rather sad looking romanseco cauliflower and was itching to get back into the kitchen. My knee-jerk reaction is generally to douse it in cheese sauce, instead I thought I'd try to re-create a very successful curry from last week.

Loosely inspired by the legendary Leon Gobi - this is rich in coconut milk and sweet from ground almonds, feel free to enhance this further with raisins; but I can't stand them in savoury food - especially curry. Of course, you can also use any vegetables you have lying around - I find this a really good way to use up root vegetables, the sweetness works perfectly; or throw in chickpeas, they're delicious in everything. The richness also means it goes particularly well with brown rice - making this an altogether virtuous meal.

Ingredients

Serves 4

1 onion, sliced
2 tbsp sunflower oil
1 chilli
1 2inch piece ginger
5 cloves garlic
2 tsp Madras curry powder
1 tsp turmeric
about 250g sweet root vegetables cut into chunks e.g. carrots, swede, sweet potato, pumpkin, squash
1 cauliflower, broken into florets
1 x 400ml tin of coconut milk
4 tbsp ground almonds
Juice of ½ a lemon
coriander, roughly chopped

Blend the garlic, ginger and chilli to a paste.
Meanwhile, heat a large frying pan with the oil, add the onions and fry until soft.
Tumble in the vegetables (apart from the peas) and sprinkle over the spices. Stir well.
Pour in the coconut milk, half fill the can again with water and add to the pan.
Bring to the boil and simmer for 15mins.
Add the ground almonds and peas, simmer for a few mins more.
Add the lemon juice and season to taste.
Serve with lots of chopped coriander. Read more...

Cauliflower Cheese

Most things are improved by the addition of cheese sauce. I remember eating a sunday dinner at a friend's house once; the usual roast potatoes, carrots, parsnips and greens. The meat of choice was a large ham, with a sticky sweet glaze. All in all a good spread I thought, then out came the piece de resistance, a jug of cheese sauce! Can you think of anything better than being allowed to douse all of your food in a cheesy blanket?

Alas, I like to think to think that my tastes have moved on a little and these days, I sometimes even eat meals that don't don't contain any cheese. But cauliflower and any other slightly bitter counterparts such as green cabbage and kale really do benefit from a bit of cheese sauce. I'll often eat it as a meal in itself with some salad or a few roasted vegetables. Roast potatoes, super crispy with a fluffy centre are particularly divine dipped into the sauce.

Ingredients

Serves 4

1 medium cauliflower
40g butter
40g flour
500ml milk
125g strong cheddar, grated
1/2tsp english mustard
2tbsp breadcrumbs

• Remove the outer leaves from the cauliflower and break into small florets. Place in a large saucepan, cover with water, add 1/2 tsp salt and bring to the boil.
• Once the water comes to the boil, drain and tip into a large baking dish.
• Meanwhile, heat the butter in a large saucepan, once melted add the flour and whisk thorughly, continue cooking until the mixture (a 'roux') turns a nutty brown colour.
• Now add the milk slowly, whisk it completely into the mixture as you go to avoid lumps.
• One all the milk is added, cook over a low heat, stirring all the time until the sauce thickens, it should coat the back of a spoon.
• Now take off the heat, season well and add the cheese and mustard, allow it melt for a minute or so and stir well.
• Pour over the cauliflower and top with the breadcrumbs.
• Cook at 200C for 20-30mins until bubbling and golden.

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Cauliflower and Cannellini Soup

Hurray! Its cauliflower time of the year. I've resisted the urge to douse it in cheese sauce and did a little recipe investigation instead, I've already had success with this soup, so was excited when I read about one with cannelini beans flavoured with rosemary.

Thankfully, it turned out superbly, cauliflower is so creamy when blended, a bit of extra texture from the beans and some lovely thyme salt sprinkled on top. A perfect autumn meal, I was also lucky enough to have chunks of delicious homemade rye bread to dunk in. Surely the best part of soup?

This recipe came from Valentine Warner in Olive magazine. What follows is my take, he faffs making a chicken stock, but the sentiments are the same.

Ingredients

serves 4

1 onion, roughly chopped
50g butter
1 llarge cauliflower, approx 1kg
1500ml vegetable stock
½ small 184ml pot double cream
2 cans cannellini bean, drianed and rinsed
1tbsp sea salt
1 large sprig thyme

• Sweat the onions in the butter in a large pan, meanwhile chop the cauliflower into small florets and toss into the pan too, stir to coat in the butter and sweat too for about 5mins.
• Now pour over the stock, bring to the boil and simmer for 15mins until the cauliflower is completely soft.
• Take off the heat and blend until completely smooth.
• Now stir in the double cream and cannellini beans.
• Warm through to serve.
• when ready, chop the thyme leaves and salt as finely as possible, sprinkle this over the soup, with a dribble of oil and a grind of black pepper.

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Creamy Cauliflower Soup

Now cauliflower isn't normally good for anything but cauliflower cheese. But this creamy cauliflower soup with a little sweetcorn and spring onion for texture is really delicious. Its another recipe from the wonderful Cranks Bible, you must try it, it really is good and cheap as chips to make.

Cauliflower and Sweetcorn Chowder

Ingredients
1 large onion, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 medium head cauliflower, cut into equal sized florets
750ml hot vegetable stock
3tbsp double cream
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 large can sweetcorn in water, drained
1 bunch spring onions, finely sliced

Saute the onions in a little oil and butter if you have it until soft, add the garlic and cauliflower and fry for 1 min, add the vegetable stock, bring to the boil and simmer for about 10mins until the cauliflower is soft. Its hard to specify weights of cauliflower as it would be stupid not to use a whole head, so add more or less stock depending on the size of cauliflower you have.

Once the cauliflower is cooked, puree the soup with the double cream and mustard. Season to taste. Add the sweetcorn to the soup and warm through. Serve garnished with a little spring onion. Read more...