Tough Times Call for the Tried, Tested and Tasty

Right, the market has been raided, the fridge is now full, the freezer is wedged shut and my purse strings are a little worse for wear again

Tough times call for the super savvy to deliver optimal satisfaction at the high end of the delicious and trendy scale... let the cauliflower take centre stage.

Eighties revival of Cauliflower Shepherd’s Pie

You will need:  a casserole dish, a frying pan, a chopping board, a sharp knife, can opener, a whisk, a mixing bowl and a mixing spoon.

ü  1 large cauliflower

ü  1 lb lean ground beef

ü  1/2 onion, chopped

ü  4 cups of frozen vegetables (green beans, broccoli, carrots)

ü  3 eggs

ü  1/2 can of tomato sauce

ü  1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

ü  2 tbsp garlic

ü  1 tsp cayenne pepper

ü  4 tbsp real butter

ü  Handful of fresh chives chopped

 Revival of the fittest:

Brown ground beef in a pan with onion, garlic and cayenne pepper. Simply add the portion of tomato sauce. Once mixed together, place 1/2 of mixture in bottom of casserole dish. Layer into the casserole dish the opened can of vegetables and the rest of beef mixture. Whisk 3 eggs and pour on top. Sprinkle the shredded cheese and chives evenly over the dish. Microwave the cauliflower for 10 minutes in a small amount of water. Puree with butter and pour on top of casserole. Bake 30 minutes until golden brown. For added zest splash a little Worchester sauce into the portion of tomato sauce and mix thoroughly with beef. Serve up and enjoy some seriously scrumptious shepherd’s pie! A tasty accompaniment: a glass of Bordeaux, or Cabernet Sauvignon.

One clever cook creates a great cauliflower kick

Cauliflower Risotto (risotto ai cavolfiori). For the ultimate bees knees of cauliflower with cheese you will need: a grater, a frying pan, a pot, a knife, a chopping board, a mixing spoon and a flair for the Italian and or Jamie Oliver.

ü  1 cauliflower

ü  2 handfuls of grated stale bread

ü  1 small tin of anchovies, oil from tin reserved

ü  3 small dried red chilies

ü  extra virgin olive oil

ü  1 x risotto bianco

ü  a decent handful of chopped fresh parsley

ü   sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

ü   grated Parmesan cheese

Grate the bread and mix together well with the anchovies, the oil from the tin and the chopped chilies. Fry the flavoured breadcrumbs, stirring and tossing constantly until golden brown. Prepare the cauliflower by trimming the coarse leaves and cutting out the stalk. Finely chop the inner part of the stalk. Add the chopped cauliflower stalks to the risotto bianco with the onion and add the cauliflower florets to your pan of hot stock. Add the stock bit by bit until the rice is half cooked. Once the cauliflower florets soften, start adding them to the risotto with the stock, crushing them into the rice as you go. Continue to do this until the rice is cooked and all the cauliflower has been added.  Combine the butter and Parmesan, and stir in to season. Sprinkle the anchovy mixture and, grate some more Parmesan over the top and serve. Instantly and intentionally delicious! Suggested accompaniment: goes well with a glass of Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc.

Simple, sensational and served on the side..

Chunk Up & Chow Down

Cauliflower, pure and simple, chunked up into large florets piled onto a steaming rack along with a selection of other vegetables, like wedges of onion, red cabbage, potatoes, and florets of broccoli, sprinkle some shredded cheddar cheese with a light seasoning of salt and pepper and once cooked drizzle a little wine vinegar and soy sauce on top to taste.  The result is a light, full flavoured and colourful creation that makes for a very impressive side dish. Particularly well paired with a variety of ethnic dishes and always served best with a glass of Riesling, or Pinot Blanc.

Chillified or Chillifried!

To create decent batter, mix 2 tbsp rice flour, with water, oil and season with red chilli powder and salt to taste. Add 1 diced cauliflower to this paste, mixing well and deep frying the florets. Once done, keep them separately to one side. Lightly fry 3/4 curry leaves adding in 2 chopped green chillies and 3tsp of curd. Add the cauliflower and mix thoroughly together. Serve alongside Indian inspired dishes, simply sublime with a glass of Riesling, or Pinot Blanc.

Cauliflower in a class of its own.

Yesterday evening I decided to create a sensational spaghetti dish using a both wit and charm as the primary ingredients. The result was a culinary delight delivered on a tight budget but not in least bit lacking of glamour and panache.

To start, I had a good root around the kitchen to find out what ingredients I had as a base for my creation. Then, having cobbled a few cents together at the bottom of my purse, I toddled on down to the local market for some seriously fresh veg. I always find that this technique offers so much more ‘bang for your buck’ than any ready-made meal or fast food supply. In fact, I can testify that this recipe can be put together quicker than your average order for a take-out and delivery, and at a fraction of the cost.

To keep it straightforward there are only six ingredients, actually there are seven if you choose to follow the suggestions below.

To begin, you will need a fairly reasonable amount of ordinary cooking utensils; 3 cooking pots (incl. a steamer), a strainer, a sharp knife, a grater, a wooden spoon, a pasta spoon, a large serving dish and 4 people for dinner!

The General Gist:

ü  1 large (generous looking) cauliflower

ü  3 garlic cloves (peeled and left whole)

ü  1 lb spaghetti (ordinary semolina, whole wheat, gluten free, vegetable, or rice based)

ü  1/3 cup fresh breadcrumbs (grated toast should do the trick)

ü  Sea salt and freshly ground pepper (season to taste)

ü  Extra virgin olive oil (as much or as little as you please)

Prepare the cauliflower by cleansing it and cutting the stalks off flat at the bottom. Steam the florets and garlic until really tender, and at the same time pop the spaghetti into a separate pot of boiling water. Once cooking has been completed for both, mix the strained spaghetti, steamed cauliflower and garlic together in a serving bowl, hastily adding the rest of the suggested ingredients. Continue to stir until everything has been proportionately distributed throughout the serving bowl. (Note: Cauliflower florets should fall apart when mixing- this adds to flavour and texture). You should get the gist as you go along.

Suggestion Sprinkle fresh parsley and/or parmesan to taste.

Serve: With a smile and a glass of wine to enhance the intensity of flavours present.  A Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Blanc, or Pinot Grigio all work very well with this dish. (Personally, I decided to go along with a Pinot Grigio and it gets full thumbs up).

Verdict: Spaghetti made splendid, with cauliflower. Let your taste buds do the talking.

Extra

Sometimes a “Friday night in” calls for a little something extra that is both cheap and chic. For the ultimate gastronomic gratification, try homemade garlic bread on the side. As a recommendation, I tend to use freshly baked sourdough bread as a base. It is quite convenient to get a hold of and it is easy on the purse strings. Using a blender, blend an appropriate portion of butter, garlic, seasoning with a little salt and/or herbs of your choice. Spread blended ingredients on slices of fresh sourdough and bake for 10/12 minutes. Result: Light and very tasty crispy garlic bread.

Cauliflower Cues & Clues

Ø  When choosing cauliflowers, make sure that the florets are close and white and be sure to trim off the decayed outside leaves as part of any preparation.

Ø  Always cut the stalk off flat at the bottom before cooking.

Ø  Cauliflower averages approx 12 to 15 minutes to cook, a large one, 20 to 25 minutes, after the water boils.

Ø  The average cost for large cauliflowers at local food market is approx $1 each.

Ø  It is sufficient to allow 1 large cauliflower for 3 people.

Not Without My Cauliflower

This blog aims to go beyond the rather bland expectations that many people have of my wild cabbage patch pal, the cauliflower.

When most people think of ways to cook cauliflower their first thoughts usually focus on boiling or baking. While this seems to be a simple and proper fast food solution, it is a rather limited approach.  I use the word limited because, although it may sound a litte odd at first, the cauliflower is actually an absolutely wonderful aristocrat of the vegetable world. Even though its mild mannered flavour and texture is known to create lots of buff and bulk to many main meals worth serving out of a one pot wonder, its also worth realising that, with the right preparation, it can exude an incredible flavour that is really most impressive. 

Luckily for us, it is in plentiful supply, it is also easy to grow, cheap to buy, quick to cook, healthy, nutritious, and makes an extraordinary accompaniment fit for a king. A real hit for those of us living well and on a budget.

With cauliflower explores new ways to cook and prepare food with a little more flair, that offers a taste of something deliciously different and all the while maintaining a real sense of joie de vivre.

Stay tuned for the scrumptious with a side order of the sensational!

This ain’t no cabbage patch, kid.