Cooking Cauliflower

And a few recipes to go with

There is a very simple reason for this week’s cauliflower fest. They are currently on offer in Waitrose at 82p each, but even full price you can usually get one for just over £1, so hardly breaking the bank. I bought a pile of them and had a play in the kitchen, using everything - florets, stems and leaves. The following recipes were all tested on the regular white sort, this time around, but will also work with those of a different hue – purple or orange, as well as the beautifully architectural romesco. They will also work with broccoli – they cook in similar times. A quick note on choosing cauliflowers - the ones I have been buying are tightly enclosed in outer leaves. It is always best to prise open if possible (I know some come shrink wrapped) and make sure the florets are clean and white and nuttily aromatic - you don’t want black spots or anything remotely nutty. And gauge the weight too, if you are paying by unit - 2 cauliflowers may look the same size but be quite different, a lighter one usually having stems and florets on the spindlier side of robust.

Today’s recipes are still wintery-ish. We have had variations of cauliflower cheese twice in the last 10 days, I think we have all needed the comfort. I am finding the weather a bit relentless and it is feeding a general mood of tiredness and gloom. Very pathetic fallacy. I know I am not the only one feeling like this. It does not stop me from walking though. Blackbirds in full song and hot food at the end of it more than make up for squelching mud for miles (also, I do love the sound of slowly resistant, squelching mud. Bird’s Eye trifle eat your heart out).

How to Cook Cauliflower - steaming

If you want to steam/boil cauliflower because you are going to use it in a bake or make a puree or anything where it needs to be just cooked through, I find the best method is to either put a slick of water in the base of the cooker and immediately start heating it, add the cauliflower, broken up into florets with the thickest parts of the stems sliced, and season. Bring up to high pressure and if you are using a fairly big pressure cooker (between 4-6l), zero minutes is usually enough. If you are using a smaller pressure cooker which comes up to pressure faster, then I usually cook for 30 seconds at HP. Fast release of course. You can also put in the steamer basket rather than cook in the base of the cooker, adding more water. I use the same timings for this.

Stems and leaves – the outer ones can be a bit fibrous and can need a little longer – my advice would be to slice them (I go for around 2cm) and put them under the florets and initially use the same timings. If you find they need more cooking, just remove the florets and bring up to pressure once more.

How to Cook Cauliflower - roasting

To get a bit of extra flavour into the cauliflower, you can pressure “roast” instead. Heat your pressure cooker up and add olive oil (or any oil/fat that you like). When the oil is hot, add the cauliflower and brown lightly. Add a splash of water, bring up to high pressure, and again, either immediately release the pressure or cook for 30 seconds. You can of course flavour the oil with any spices you like, or perhaps some garlic or ginger. You can see an example of this here. Another thing we do frequently in my house as a side dish is cheesy cauliflower as opposed to cauliflower cheese. The cauliflower is roasted with spices - usually cumin and mustard seeds, but whatever you fancy, then I stir in a little cream, sprinkle with cheese and either grill or just replace the lid and let the cheese melt a little. Remember if you are putting the saucepan part of your pressure cooker under a grill, you will need to protect the handles with foil.

The Recipes:

Cauliflower Saffron Spaghetti

This is a vegan recipe and apart from the saffron, made with very cheap ingredients. If you don’t like saffron, another strong flavour that will work with everything else in this dish is anchovy (of course, this stops it from being vegan). Simply break up a tin of anchovies into your pressure cooker before you add the onion. And of course you can also add cheese, either separately or to the pangrattato, but I don’t ususally find it needs it.

Ingredients:

3 tbsp olive oil

300g cauliflower, broken up into small florets

A large pinch saffron

1 onion, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

400g spaghetti

A small handful of red lentils

30g raisins

A squeeze of lemon juice

For the pangrattato:

1 tbsp olive oil

50g breadcrumbs (I use stale sourdough)

Zest of 1 lemon

Small bunch of parsley, finely chopped

1 clove garlic

Heat your pressure cooker and add 2 tbsp of the olive oil. When it has glided across the base and is hot, add the cauliflower and fry on a high heat until lightly browned all over. Add the saffron and stir for a minute until the colour starts to bleed into the cauliflower. Season with salt and pepper. Pour in 50ml water, then immediately close the lid, bring up to high pressure and either immediately release the pressure or leave for 30 seconds and then fast release.

Transfer the cauliflower florets to a bowl, reserving any liquid from the pan separately.

Add the remaining oil to your pressure cooker, followed by the onion. Saute for a few minutes, then stir in the garlic. Break the spaghetti in half and spread it as evenly as possible over the base of your pressure cooker. Sprinkle over the lentils and raisins. Season with salt and add the reserved liquid from cooking the cauliflower. Add just enough water to cover the pasta. Close the lid and bring up to high pressure. Reduce the heat so it is just high enough to maintain the pressure and cook for 5 minutes.

Remove from the heat and fast release the pressure. Return the cauliflower to the cooker to reheat with the pasta.

Make the pangrattato. Heat the olive oil in a small frying pan and add the breadcrumbs. Stir until they are glossy and starting to brown, then add the lemon, parsley and garlic. Stir for another minute. Transfer to a small serving bowl to be added at the table.

Squeeze lemon juice over the pasta, then divide between 4 bowls. Serve with extra lemon and the pangrattato.

Cauliflower Steak Flatbreads (or Pitas)

I admit, I would normally do this with lamb, and actually, have been known to add lamb to this as a garnish (see the optional extras at the end of the recipe), but this is still an immensely satisfying dish without the meat element. Again, it can be vegan, depending on the kind of yogurt you use, my version is vegetarian.

I find that the easiest way to cut steaks from a cauliflower is to cut the cauliflower vertically down the middle, then cut a couple of slices from each half – they will be close in size that way. Of course you can use the remaining cauliflower for something else.

I haven’t given a recipe for hummus here – there is one in my first pressure cooker book, but really, it is chickpea cooking times you need. I soak chickpeas overnight or do a quick soak (bring up to high pressure, cook for 2 mins, leave to drop pressure naturally for 5, release the rest of the pressure), making sure I add a good teaspoon of salt to the soaking water with both methods. Then using fresh water I will bring up to high pressure again and cook for either 2 minutes at high pressure and then remove from the heat and leave to stand for an hour, or cook for 15 minutes HP, natural release.

For the cauliflower:

4 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp harissa paste

1 tsp honey

4-8 cauliflower steaks (number dependent on the size of your cauliflowers)

1 tsp cumin seeds

For the sauce:

150g yogurt of kefir

1 tbsp harissa paste

For the rest (all entirely optional):

4 flatbreads or pitas

200g hummus

150g chickpeas

2 medium tomatoes, sliced

A few slices of cucumber

A few salad leaves

Pickled chillies

A sprinkling of za’atar

Lemon wedges

First get all your accoutrements together. Make the sauce by mixing the kefir and harissa paste together and season with salt and pepper. Taste and adjust the harissa as necessary.

To make the cauliflower, mix half the olive oil with the harissa paste and honey. Brush over the cauliflower steaks. Heat your pressure cooker and add the remaining olive oil. When it is hot, add the cauliflower steaks and char on both sides. This should only take a minute or two if your cooker is hot enough. You may have to do in 2 batches, depending on the size of the cauliflower and your cooker. Add a scant 50ml of water to your cooker – it will steam up fiercely, get the lid locked into place as quickly as possible and bring your cooker up to high pressure. Cook for 30 seconds at high pressure and immediately fast release.

Take each flatbread (warmed through if you like – my preference is to melt butter over mine as I heat them in a pan, but this can make for messy eating), and smear over some of the hummus. Sprinkle over the chickpeas and add the tomato and cucumber. Place 1-2 cauliflower steaks on top (depending on size) and drizzle with the sauce. Finish with any of the remaining ingredients. Best eaten hot!

If you want to add a lamb garnish to this, I suggest mixing with the chickpeas. Simply heat a tablespoon of olive oil in your pressure cooker and add 200g lamb mince. When it has browned, stir in a couple of crushed cloves of garlic, more harissa pasta and the chickpeas. Add enough water to deglaze, bring up to high pressure and cook for 5 minutes. Leave to drop pressure naturally.

Cauliflower and Jerusalem Artichoke Soup

This is a multi-vegetable soup and I think one of the best ways of using up the cauliflower ribs and leaves which are perfectly edible and shouldn’t be wasted. I check them all over and trim anything that is particularly fibrous, but the pressure cooker does a very good job of softening them.

Jerusalem artichokes are in season still, just but if you don’t like them or can’t easily find them, you can use potatoes instead. I know some people avoid because of the effect they can have on the digestive system – the good news is that pressure cooking them reduces the likelihood of this happening considerably!

The red lentils break down completely and help to thicken the soup  - useful if you don’t want to puree it.

One last thing – this is something I have on occasion added leftover cauliflower cheese to. And generally cheese is good in this soup – just add a large handful of any grated cheese and heat very gently so it melts into the soup without going stringy.

25g butter

1 onion, sliced

1 large carrot, sliced

250g Jerusalem artichokes, peeled and sliced

250g cauliflower trimmings, finely sliced

4 garlic cloves, crushed or grated

50g red lentils, unrinsed

1 large sprig of thyme

1 litre vegetable or chicken stock

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat your pressure cooker and add the butter. When melted, add the onion, carrot and artichokes. Fry on a high heat until the onion starts to take on some colour, then add the cauliflower and garlic. Stir for another minute.

Add the thyme, salt and pepper and stock. Stir to make sure the base of the cooker is completely deglazed, then close the lid and bring up to high pressure. Adjust the heat to just high enough to maintain the pressure. Cook for 5 minutes then remove from the heat and leave to drop pressure naturally.

Remove the thyme sprig and serve as it is, give a very judicious whizz to break it up just a little – or blitz using a jug or stick blender if you prefer it smooth.

Finally on the recipe front here is a quick recipe for cauliflower cheese, which I doubt you all need but I feel I should, as I have mentioned it. It has bacon in it, but this is entirely optional. What I do is fry 4 rashers of back bacon in my pressure cooker in a little olive oil, then remove and slice into lardons. I’ll then pressure roast the cauliflower as described above so it takes on a little bacon flavour. You can also use other pork based products, such as chorizo, or omit entirely.

Then I make bechamel in the conventional way. For one large cauliflower, I find that using 50g each of butter and flour is enough. When I have made the roux, I add a splash of white wine if I have some open (or if I want an excuse to open some), then slowly work in enough milk (usually around 5-600ml) to make a sauce the consistency of thick pouring cream. If I have had time, I will have infused the milk first with a slice of onion, a couple of bay leaves, some allspice berries, maybe a blade of mace. Then I stir in mustard, enough cheese so you can taste it (around 100-150g depending on its strength) and stir until it has melted. The mustard and cheese thicken up the sauce - sometimes I add a bit more milk at this point. Then the cauliflower goes into an ovenproof dish with the bacon, the sauce is poured over, more cheese is sprinkled on top and then the whole lot goes into a hot oven for 25-30 minutes until brown and bubbling. And yes, if you have an air fryer you can use that instead. And if you have a multicooker with an air fryer lid you can use that too.

So what else have I been cooking? Well, there are more cauliflower recipes a foot. I am currently writing up a cauliflower and chickpea rundown which I eat with bakes. And I have just developed a recipe for jerked lamb ribs - cooked mainly in the pressure cooker and finished on the grill. Lamb ribs are crazy cheap compared to most other cuts with a surprising amount of meat on them.

The thermoses have had various pastas, rice dishes and a bit more variety in grains recently as I am trying to run my cupboards down a bit, using up various packets. I find Lilly is happy with this as she likes anything wholegrain. But Adam objects to both spelt and barley if it is the bulk of the dish, not just a sprinkling. There have been many pots of beans and greens cooked daily, curries and dal galore and a load of individual jam sponges for the freezer. How about all of you?

Thank you for reading! I really appreciate the support and the comments here there and everywhere. And just a reminder that sharing and subscribing has more impact than you can imagine.