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Yesterday, Meatless Monday, we went one step beyond the meaty cauliflower steaks and cabbage steaks we’ve become so fond of. We remembered a recipe from Frieda’s Specialty Produce that we had tucked away in anticipation of the glorious fall cauliflower harvest.
We love farmers market cauliflower. Not only is it fresher, but you can find the splendid colors of purple, orange, and pale green, as well as the exotic-looking, lime green romanesco (photo #4). Whatever you choose, look for a dense head with a thick center stem.
Roasting a whole cauliflower is simple; you just have to allow 90 minutes for it to roast. To see just how easy it is, check out this video from Frieda’s.
“The crispy, nutty crust and sweet, tender core are the stuff dreams are made of,” they aver (and we agree).
Below:
> The roasted cabbage recipe follows.
> All the Brassicas, the genus of high-antioxidant, cruciferous veggies that we all should eat more of!
> All 9 cruciferous vegetable holidays are below.
> National Cabbage Day and National Cauliflower Day are both February 17th!
Elsewhere on The Nibble:
> The year’s 9 cabbage-related holidays.
> 30 delicious cabbage recipes.
> The history of cabbage.
> The histories of 1000+ foods and beverages.
RECIPE: WHOLE ROASTED CAULIFLOWER & VARIATIONS
Ingredients
1 whole cauliflower (about 2 pounds), trimmed to sit flat, rinsed and patted dry
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Salt or seasoned salt
Optional: fresh-ground pepper
Optional: chutney, herb butter, olive relish, pesto or sauce of choice
Preparation
1. PREHEAT the oven to 375°F. Place the cauliflower on a plate and drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice, using your hands to coat the cauliflower all over.
2. SEASON all over with salt and transfer the cauliflower to a small roasting pan or cast-iron skillet, floret-side up. Cover tightly with aluminum foil.
3. BAKE for 30 minutes; remove the foil and roast for 1 hour until the florets are golden (larger heads can take longer). Transfer to a serving platter and serve immediately.
4. SLICE as desired: in wedges (our preference) or vertical, in 3/4- to 1-inch slices. You can also cut the cauliflower into individual florets, but why spend the time?
FLAVOR VARIATIONS
Use your favorite international flavors as seasonings and sauces. Here are some simple replacements:
Chinese seasonings: Eliminate the salt, brush with soy sauce instead of lemon juice, top with minced garlic; garnish with fresh chives. A dab of hoisin sauce? Why not!
Indian seasonings: Season with ground cumin, coriander and optional curry powder instead of salt and pepper; garnish with fresh cilantro and serve with raita or other yogurt sauce.
Italian seasonings #1: Use garlic-flavored olive oil and top the cauliflower with minced garlic before roasting. Place the slice atop pesto, or marinara sauce seasoned with oregano. Garnish with sliced black olives.
Italian seasonings #2: After roasting, sprinkle with 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar and 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan. Return to the oven for another 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
Japanese seasonings: Use 1/2 olive oil, 1/2 toasted sesame oil or wasabi oil, and garnish with toasted sesame seeds, grated fresh ginger and/or fresh chives. Serve with ponzu sauce.
Mexican seasonings: Replace the lemon juice with lime juice and sprinkle with lime zest and red chile flakes. Serve on a bed of black beans or pinto beans and top with warmed salsa. Garnish with cilantro and optional crumbled queso fresco.
Coming up below the photo: all the Brassicas (cruciferous vegetables).
Plus: The year’s 9 cruciferous vegetable holidays.
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[1] A tricolor roasted cauliflower feast. Here’s the recipe, which includes garlic breadcrumbs and fennel-olive relish (photo © San Francisco Chronicle).
[2] Roast cauliflower Indian style, with a rich Mughlai sauce of tomato, cashew nuts, milk, cream and butter. Here’s the recipe (photo © Vegan Richa).
[3] This purple cauliflower is garnished with a mint-parsley sauce. Here’s the recipe (photo © Sprouted Roots).
[4] You can do the same with an exotic romanesco, often called romanesco cauliflower but it’s actually its own cultivar. Don’t confuse romanesco, the vegetable, with romesco, the sauce (photo © Good Eggs).
[5] A surprisingly different combination: roast cauliflower with pepperoncini. Here’s the recipe (photo © Taste of Home).
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[6] Roast calliflower with farro, also known as emmer wheat (photo © Good Eggs).
LOVE YOUR BRASSICAS (CRUCIFEROUS VEGETABLES)
The plant genus of cruciferous vegetables, Brassica, contains nutritional powerhouses that are packed with potent, cancer-fighting phytonutrients (antioxidants). It’s easy to eat a cup or more daily from the long list below.
There are more than 30 wild species of Brassica, plus numerous cultivars* and hybrids of cultivated origin. The best-known Brassica members include:
Arugula
Bok choy
Broccoli (plus broccolini, broccoli rabe/rapini, broccolisprouts)
Brussels sprouts
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Caulilini (Caulilini® baby cauliflower)
Choi sum (Chinese flowering cabbage)
Collard greens
Gai lam (Chinese broccoli or Chinese kale)
Collard greens
Horseradish/wasabi
Kai-lan/gai-lan (often called Chinese broccoli in the U.S.)
Kale
Kohlrabi
Komatsuna (Japanese Mustard Spinach)
Mizuna
Moringa
Mustard greens
Radish/daikon
Rapeseed/canola
Rapini (broccoli rabe)
Romanesco
Rutabaga
Tatsoi
Turnips (roots, greens)
Eat up!
Editor’s note: Swiss chard often mistakenly appears on lists of cruciferous vegetables because it is a leafy green often cooked in similar ways to Brassica greens. We’ve even found the information on the website of the prestigious Columbia University Medical Center. However, chard is not a member of the Brassica family. It belongs to the Amaranthaceae family, along with beets and spinach.
THE YEAR’S 9 CRUCIFEROUS VEGETABLE HOLIDAYS
January 31: Eat Brussels Sprouts Day
February: Exotic Vegetables and Star Fruit Month
February 17: National Cabbage Day†
February 17: National Cauliflower Day†
April: Brussels Sprouts and Cabbage Month
June 17: National Eat Your Vegetables Day
August 2: National Mustard Day (mustard greens)
October 1: National Kale Day
November 8: Cook Something Bold and Pungent Day
[7] Mixed crucifers: clockwise from to right, Brussels sprouts, kohlrabi, cauliflower, red cabbage, kohlrabi, Savoy cabbage (photo © Barbara Mendez Nutrition).
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*A cultivar is a plant variety that has been produced in cultivation by selective breeding.
†Both of these “cousins” celebrate the same holiday.
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