CAULIFLOWER
The unassuming common-or-garden cauliflower is, I think, the most underrated of vegetables, too often destined to be boiled and doused in cheese sauce. Don’t get me wrong, there’s joy to be found in a brilliant cauliflower cheese, but cauliflower deserves to be so much more than just a side dish.
This whitish brassica can vary from the pale end of bland to downright offensive in its sulphurous-ness. Like garlic, the more you cut cauliflower the more potent it is. Cauliflower purée or soup, for example, needs something to temper its strength like a slug of cream or a potato mashed into it. Roasting or frying brings out its earthier side, making it a great vehicle for all sorts of strong flavours. Hard cheese, spices, chilli, garlic, truffle, salty capers and anchovies can all transform it into the star of a meal.
Friends often tease that I can’t create a menu without cauliflower. It’s mostly true and it ticks so many dietary requirement boxes – gluten free, vegan, low-carb. It also has a weight and creaminess that means it can hold its own centre stage and almost everyone will happily devour it. My harissa roast cauliflower with warm hummus and coriander pesto is a sure-fire cauliflowersceptic-converting dish. The whole cauliflower, leaves and all, is doused in harissa paste, foil-wrapped and roasted until soft all the way through and just starting to brown on top. I then whiz up coriander leaves, lemon juice, garlic, almonds and olive oil in a blender and serve the cauliflower whole at the table on a platter of warmed hummus, topped with pesto and toasted flaked almonds.
Cauliflower rice is very in vogue at the moment. Fry it with a little olive oil, garlic and curry powder. Serve stirred into rice, or by itself with chopped coriander and spring onions. Finally, deep frying cauliflower is magical. The outside crisps up well while the inside turns rich and creamy. Douse 5cm pieces in seasoned cornflour and fry for two to three minutes. Serve with mayo spiked with hot chilli sauce.
The humble cauliflower deserves to grace our dinner tables, and not just as a supporting act. Go on, give it the love it deserves. Follow Giovanna on
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