Cauliflower – one of those vegetables that you either love or hate – mostly thanks to the soggy offerings at school lunches. However, cauliflower is a member of the cancer-fighting cruciferous family of vegetable, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant-rich, and may boost both your heart and brain health! Eating cauliflower will provide your body with impressive amounts of vitamin C, vitamin k, beta-carotene, and much more while supporting healthy digestion – so perhaps worth looking at again?
The weekly supermarket sweep finds that they are all selling at about £1.00 each (72p if you have a wonky one from Morrisons!). I am going to cut one in half for 2 recipes – so at 50p a meal (plus a few pennies for the extras), surely a winner!
Cauliflower and Blue Cheese soup
- 1/2 cauliflower, florets separated
- 1/2 litre of water with a vegetable stock cube
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 dessertspoon of butter
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 stalk of celery (did you know that if you keep celery in the fridge wrapped in tin foil it lasts for ages?)
- 1 potato, peeled and diced
- 1 -2 tablespoons crème fraiche or cream
- 1 – 2 tablespoons blue cheese, crumbled (buy some and keep in the freezer and just grate straight from it) – you can use a strong cheddar if you prefer.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan and add onion, celery and potato and sweat for about 10 minutes. Add the florets (leaves, too, if you want) and the stock and simmer gently for 20 – 25 minutes till the cauliflower is cooked. Remove the bay leaf and blend until smooth and return to the heat, adding the cheese and crème fraiche.
Roasted Cauliflower with Punjabi Seasonings
- 1/2 cauliflower, florets separated
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander 1 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves
- 2 tablespoon olive or rapeseed oil
- 1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
Put the cauliflower florets in a large bowl. Combine the lemon juice, turmeric and ginger and pour over the cauliflower. Add salt, cayenne, ground spices and coriander and mix well. Set aside for 2 hours or more tossing now and then.
Preheat the oven to 220oC. Put the oil in a small frying pan and set over a medium heat. When hot, add the cumin seed and let them sizzle for a few seconds. Pour the spiced oil over the cauliflower and toss well. Spread out the florets in a roasting tin and put in the oven for 25 minutes, turning half way through. Serve alongside any meat of your choice, any curry – or just on its own with some chutneys to dip into!
