Cooking with Cauliflower

A Beautiful Brassica

While the fields may seem bare in winter, there is in fact a bounty of flavorful, fascinating produce to be discovered.  One of the more familiar winter items is the cauliflower.  This veggie hails from the Brassica genus, which includes broccoli, turnips, and radishes.  The brassicas are also known as cruciferous vegetables, referring to the cross-like (crucifer, cross-bearing) arrangement of the flower petals.

Cauliflowers are notable for the fractal patterning of the "curds," the small flat flowers that constitute the traditionally white head.  Often, to preserve the whiteness of the head, farmers will "tie" the plants, fixing the outer leaves over the top to prevent the dirt or sun from compromising the pure color that consumers seek.  While you may be used to white varieties of the plant, cauliflowers in fact come in orange, purple, and green cultivars as well.  All these plants prefer cooler weather, which explains their place in a winter CSA.

Nutritional Profile

The health benefits of cruciferous vegetables like the cauliflower abound.  The consumption of these items have been linked to lower rates of cancer, presumably through the activity of sulforaphane, a glucosinolate phytochemical that induces anti-cancer enzymes (the transcription of tumor suppressor genes).  They also have been shown to decrease oxidative stress, the buildup of free radicals that has been linked to cancer and cardiovascular disease.

One cup of cauliflower has only 26 calories, but 86% of your daily vitamin C, 21% of your vitamin K, and 15% of your folate.  The vitamin C contributes to the antioxidant properties of cauliflower, as well as promotes immune system function.  The vitamin K is critical to blood clotting function; but it is also a reason to avoid cauliflower if on blood thinners for stroke prevention, since the "K" comes from the German word "Koagulationsvitamin" (coagulation vitamin).  The folate, or folic acid, promotes healthy red blood cell formation and fetal development, making it one of the most widely consumed prenatal vitamins.

Playing with Cauliflower

Cauliflower is a versatile vegetable, and can often be used as a lower-starch replacement for potatoes in many recipes.  Turning the bulky white head into a pile of (relatively unmessy) florets can be a challenge, though.  We recommend cutting the head into quarters with a knife before attempting to break off the individual pieces.  As with any of the harder raw vegetables, it's a good idea to try to make pieces more or less the same size prior to cooking, so that each piece cooks through an equal amount.

Once you have the florets collected, you can always just call it a day and eat them as they are.  Cauliflower is a staple of any raw veggie platter, and goes well with a variety of dips and sauces.  Alternatively, you can include the florets in a sautee.  Steaming and boiling tend to overcook cauliflower, making it mushy for any stand alone dish.  However, that mushiness can sometimes be harnessed to thicken soups and stews.  Overboiling cauliflower in a soup, and then submitting the concoction to a stick blender or energetic spoon-wielding cook, can turn a pot of boiling winter veggies into a hearty, creamy winter soup.  Throw in a bit of cheddar cheese, and you have a perfect one-bowl meal for a cold night in.