cauliflower

November – Harvest Salad
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November – Harvest Salad

This salad takes full advantage of the wonderful and colorful autumn produce available right now. You combine roast sweet potato and cauliflower, apple, toasted nuts, a grain (your choice), with a lemony dressing full of fresh parsley. Serve it warm, room temperature, or cold. The dish is both vegetarian and vegan, gluten free if you use brown rice as the grain. I served it as a side with a roast chicken, and it would be delicious as a one bowl vegetarian meal, poached eggs optional.

I mixed leftovers into scrambled eggs the next morning in a delicious scramble for brunch.

Harvest Salad

Harvest Salad

It’s pretty enough to serve as a side for Thanksgiving. Make it ahead, bring to room temperature and toss with the dressing just before serving. This recipe will serve 4-6 but can be easily doubled or tripled.

Harvest Salad

  • 1 cup of brown rice, farro, or another whole grain
  • 1 head of cauliflower, broken into small florets
  • 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil
  • A sprinkle of dried spices, or a few sprigs of fresh thyme or oregano or rosemary
  • 1 large apple
  • A handful of toasted nuts, pecans or walnuts

Lemon/Parsley Dressing

  • 1 bunch of parsley, minced
  • 1 clove of garlic, minced
  • 1/2 cup of olive oil
  • juice of 1-2 lemons
  • 1 teaspoon of pure maple syrup or agave
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • Freshly ground pepper
  1. Rinse your grain of choice (I used farro) and cook with the appropriate amount of water or broth. Refer to the cooking directions on the package as each is different. Once cooked drain, if appropriate, and cool.
  2. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Place the cauliflower and sweet potato on separate large baking sheets, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with herbs and salt. Roast for 20 minutes, then turn the pieces to brown the other side and roast for an additional 15-20 minutes until golden brown and soft. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
  3. Spread the nuts out on a small roasting sheet and toast for about 5 minutes. Watch carefully so they don’t burn, remove and cool.
  4. Combine the dressing ingredients in a jar with a tight lid and shake to combine.
  5. Chop the apple (you do not need to peel), and set aside.
  6. When the vegetables and grains are done, combine together with the apple in a large bowl. Toss with the dressing and nuts just before serving. Taste for salt and pepper.

Serve.

Autumn salad

Autumn salad

Roast sweet potato and cauliflower salad

Roast sweet potato and cauliflower salad

 

I’m taking this to Fiesta Friday #95, hosted by Angie of the Novice Gardener. This week it is co-hosted by Loretta @ Safari of the Mind and Petra @ Food Eat Love. Come and visit with us to see all the wonderful dishes being brought by the fabulous cooks at the party.

 

 

The basic recipe came from the blog Pinch of Yum where it is called “Autumn Glow Salad with Lemon Dressing”.

April in the Kitchen – Toasty Cauliflower Cream and Cheese
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April in the Kitchen – Toasty Cauliflower Cream and Cheese

Spurred by the success of my roast cabbage steaks with cream and cheese, I took on the challenge of remaking a dish for cauliflower cheese and “fully loaded cauliflower”. Creamed cauliflower or cauliflower cheese is a popular side, it can also be the star of a vegetarian dinner. The recipe usually involves steaming the cauliflower, making a white or cheese sauce, then baking in the oven. For “fully loaded cauliflower” you add additonal cheese, sour cream, bacon and scallions. Bet you have already figured out it’s meant to be a replacement for a fully loaded baked potato, I can feel my waistline expanding!

All that is too much work for a midweek dinner, for me at least. And, I prefer some toasty crunchy bits of cauliflower, which doesn’t happen if you steam or boil it.

But it is one of my favorites and one of my English grandmother’s as well. There is quite a lot of nostalgia in this recipe. She really did love a good white sauce, but I think she would like this one even without the sauce.

This recipe is the result of experiments to simplify the recipe (as well as take out some calories). My family really enjoyed the cabbage steaks I made a few weeks ago, could I do the same with cauliflower?

Toasty Cauliflower Cream and Cheese

  • 1 large head of cauliflower, rinsed, patted dry, then cut into “steaks” about 3/4 inch thick
  • 1/2 cup of heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup of finely grated parmesan
  • 1/2 cup of sharp cheddar cheese 
Cauliflower Steaks

Cauliflower Steaks

  1. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F
  2. Line a large sheet pan or baking dish with parchment paper, or butter a gratin dish.
  3. Place the cauliflower steaks, in one layer, on the parchment paper or in the gratin dish. Drizzle each steak with heavy cream, concentrating the cream in the center (it will run out, that’s ok).
  4. Sprinkle each slice with parmesan and cheddar cheese.
  5. Roast for 25-30 minutes.
  6. Use a spatula to carefully transfer a slice to each plate.
Cauliflower steaks with cheese

Cauliflower steaks with cheese

You can also bake this in a gratin dish.

Toasty Cauliflower Cream and Cheese

Toasty Cauliflower Cream and Cheese

And, if you are feeling very decadent, turn this into a dish of “fully loaded cauliflower” with the addition of bacon and some sliced scallions.

Fully Loaded Cauliflower

Fully Loaded Cauliflower

Crispy bits of cauliflower, toasty cheese, creamy center…and all in about 30 minutes start to finish (most of which was in the oven). Winner!

March in the Kitchen – Marak of Cauliflower with Tomatoes and Olives
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March in the Kitchen – Marak of Cauliflower with Tomatoes and Olives

Marak of Cauliflower with Tomatoes and Olives

Cauliflower

Morak of Cauliflower with Tomatoes and Olives

This recipe comes from Paula Wolfert’s “The Food of Morocco” and is part of an ongoing cookbook book club. You will find all the postings connected to various cookbooks on the blog The Cookbook Guru. “The Food of Morocco” is the choice for March and April of this year.

A Marak is a Moroccan vegetable stew. In her introduction to the dish Ms. Wolfert says “Moroccans often steam or pan-roast vegetables in order to preserve their sweet intense flavor and to endow them with a creamy texture. Here juicy bits of preserved lemon and ripe olives embellish pan-roasted cauliflower.” Being a big fan of cauliflower, and having a head in the fridge, I decided to try it. My usual method of cooking cauliflower is tossing with spices and roasting in a hot oven, so this dish was a departure from habit.

I’m not going to wait until the end to tell you it was a big hit. Especially useful is the fact that it is best served at room temperature and can be made ahead. I would definitely serve this as part of a spread of small plates or as a side dish with roast meat.

This would serve 4 as a side, more if part of a larger spread.

Marak of Cauliflower with Tomatoes and Olives

  • ¼ cup of olive oil
  • 1 medium cauliflower, trimmed, halved, cored, divided into 1-inch florets, rinsed and drained (about 4 cups)
  • 2 teaspoons of sugar
  • 2 ripe or canned tomatoes, peeled (I didn’t bother), halved, seeded, chopped and drained
  • 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
  • 1 ½ cumin seeds, preferable Moroccan (mine weren’t)
  • 4 garlic cloves, peeled
  • 1 teaspoon coarse salt
  • 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
  • Juice of ½ a lemon or to taste
  • ½ a preserved lemon, rinsed, pulp and white pith removed, and slivered
  • 12 green or ripe olives, pitted
Marak of Cauliflower
  1. Heat the oil in a large straight sided skillet on medium-low heat. Add the cauliflower and sprinkle with sugar. Cover with a sheet of parchment paper and the lid, and cook for 10 minutes. Uncover, raise the heat to medium, and continue cooking until all the moisture in the skillet has evaporated and the cauliflower begins to turn golden.
  2. Add the tomatoes and paprika and continue cooking, uncovered, for another 5 minutes.
  3. Meanwhile, crush the cumin seeds (next time I would roast them first) and garlic into a paste with the salt in a mortar or small food processor. Sir in ½ cup of hot water and mix into the paste. Add it to the skillet.
  4. Continue to cook, uncovered, until all the moisture has evaporated and the cauliflower is soft and covered in sauce (about 20 minutes).
  5. Add the parsley and lemon juice, toss, let stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes until the flavors mix.
  6. Garnish with olives and sliced preserved lemon.
Marak of Cauliflower

Marak of Cauliflower

February in the kitchen – Cauliflower Croquettes
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February in the kitchen – Cauliflower Croquettes

These cauliflower croquettes are amazing! My husband and I ate the entire recipe in a single sitting! Forget the meat (we did), you won’t need it. Made small they would be wonderful as a starter, or larger as a main or side dish. Gluten free, vegetarian (if you leave out the bacon), low carb, and delicious! Isn’t cauliflower a wonderfully adaptable vegetable?

I served the croquettes topped with avocado sauce. They would also be good with a fresh salsa verde or green sauce or a dollop of sour cream.

  • 1 small to medium head of cauliflower, cut into small florets
  • 4 slices of bacon, fried crisp and crumbled – keep 2 tablespoons of the fat
  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten
  • 4 scallions, very thinly sliced (white and green parts)
  • ¼ cup fresh chopped parsley
  • ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  • ¼ cup of garbanzo flour
  • 1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
  • ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
chopped scallions and parsley
Ingredients for cauliflower croquettes
Cooked Cauliflower Rice
Cauliflower with other ingredients
  1. In a food processor rice the cauliflower florets (it should be evenly chopped but not completely pulverized).
  2. Transfer cauliflower rice to a microwave-safe dish and microwave on high for 4 minutes, or until cooked.
  3. Meanwhile pre-heat the oven to 300 degrees F.
  4. Transfer the cauliflower to a strainer lined with a tea towel. Let it cool until safe to handle, the twist the towel to squeeze out as much moisture as possible. There will be a lot.
  5. Transfer the cauliflower rice to a mixing bowl, and add the next 8 ingredients. Up to the olive oil. Mix well. add egg, scallions, parsley, salt and pepper and mix well.
  6. Heat two tablespoons of the bacon fat (if using) and 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large heavy frying pan over medium-high heat until shimmering.
  7. Form the cauliflower mix into a loose croquette or burger shape. The mixture will be quite loose but will firm up when cooked. Press the patties flat with a spatula. Fry until brown on one side, then flip and cook the other.
  8. You may need to do this in batches adding more olive oil to the pan.
  9. As you finish one batch, place the cooked croquettes on a cookie sheet in the oven to keep warm while you finish frying the rest.
  10. Serve with avocado sauce, salsa verde, or sour cream with a garnish of parsley.
Cauliflower Croquettes

Cauliflower Croquettes

Cauliflower Croquettes with Avocado Sauce

Cauliflower Croquettes with Avocado Sauce

I’m taking this to Fiesta Friday #57 to serve with my avocado sauce. Come join Angie and the gang at the Novice Gardener.

Janurary in the Kitchen – Roast Cauliflower with Cumin and Sumac
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Janurary in the Kitchen – Roast Cauliflower with Cumin and Sumac

Roast Cauliflower with Cumin and Sumac

Cauliflower is everywhere these days! It has been one of my favorite vegetables for years and I am pleased to see it finally getting the recognition it deserves. It can be used as a replacement for grains or pasta or pizza crust or potatoes. In many recipes it’s used to reduce the amount of refined carbohydrates; with the added benefit you are increasing the amount of vegetables in your diet. But cauliflower is delicious as a vegetable in it’s own right. Cauliflower cheese AKA cauliflower with cheese sauce is a classic. My favorite is a simple roast cauliflower. Cook it in a hot oven an it comes out with a crisp brown exterior and a soft interior.

Sumac is my new flavor passion. When I came across a recipe for roast cauliflower with cumin and sumac, I had to try it. The combination seems spot on. This recipe came from the blog Everybody Likes Sandwiches.

My usual method for roasting cauliflower is simle. Break an entire head of cauliflower apart into florets, coat them with olive oil and coarse salt, and bake it in a hot oven (400 degrees F) for about 40 minutes. That works well and highlights the vegetable. But, I was searching for a crunchier exterior and decided to try a method I’ve seen in several cookbooks. They call for steaming the cauliflower for 5 minutes so it is partially cooked, then roasting it at a much higher temperature (475 degrees F). I decided to try both and see which my faimily preferred.

Both start out the same.

Cauliflower coated with Sumac, lemon and cumin

Cauliflower coated with Sumac, lemon and cumin

Roast Cauliflower with Cumin and Sumac

  • 1 large head of cauliflower, broken into florets
  • 1/3 cup of olive oil
  • 1 lemon, zested
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  • 1 tablespoon ground sumac
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 large pinch of kosher salt
  • Ground fresh pepper

Method 1

  1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F
  2. In a large bowl combine the olive oil, lemon, cumin, sumac, garlic powder and salt. Whisk to mix well.
  3. Add the cauliflower and stir to coat with the spices and oil.
  4. Remove the cauliflower to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
  5. Bake for 40 minutes, turning half way through to brown the other side.
  6. Serve, adding freshly ground pepper

Method 2

  1. Preheat your oven to 475 degrees F
  2. Steam the cauliflower over boiling water for 5 minutes, drain and cool.
  3. In a large bowl combine the olive oil, lemon, cumin, sumac, garlic powder and salt. Whisk to mix well.
  4. Add the cauliflower and stir to coat with the spices and oil.
  5. Remove the cauliflower to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
  6. Bake for 20 minutes, turning half way through to brown the other side.
  7. Serve, adding freshly ground pepper
Cauliflower roasted two ways, method 1 (left) and method 2 (right)

Cauliflower roasted two ways, method 1 (left) and method 2 (right)

I found that the second method (2) produced a crisper exterior with a creamy interior. But, both were good. My family preferred the second but I think it would depend if you had other food in the oven. Cooking at 400 degrees lets you bake some chicken or other vegetables at the same time.

In both cases the mix of spices was delicious and very complementary to the cauliflower.