Health Benefits of Cauliflower
A delicious cruciferous vegetable, cauliflower is high in vitamin C, vitamin K, folate, and pantothenic acid. High in fiber, some studies indicate that it's a good choice for cardiovascular health due to its ability to bind bile acids and help regulate cholesterol levels. In addition to cardiovascular support, cauliflower is also good for the detoxification, digestive, immune, and inflammatory systems in the body.
In my part of the world, cauliflower is in season. I'm very fortunate to live in an area where we have an extended growing season. While I miss certain crops that need cold weather to grow well (like rhubarb) I love the veggies that come out of my garden.
Eat it All!
Cauliflower is a fabulous white vegetable. Sometimes it comes in an orange-y yellow color or even purple. Those have a few more antioxidants, but they're all still cauliflower and absolutely delicious steamed, baked, roasted, or even be eaten raw.
The tastiness doesn't stop with the florets. Easy and versatile to prepare in a number of different ways, one of the things that always seems to surprise people is that you can use the cauliflower green leafy bits too. They make a great vegetable to go along with your cooked cauliflower.
In the summer I often roast the greens right along with the florets. Drizzled with fruity olive oil, some sea salt, and fresh ground pepper they are truly fabulous. A friend of mine recently told me that he used the greens in place of kale to make cauliflower greens chips and they were delicious.
Now that we're heading into colder weather I'm not eating raw or steamed vegetables as much, preferring different cooking methods. At this time of year with cauliflower, I often like to curry it. The flavors of curry go well with the cauliflower and greens. Over a bed of rice with some protein on the side it's a very satisfying dinner.
Curried Cauliflower
Ingredients
- 1 generous pinch mustard seed
- 2 Tbsp olive oil cold pressed, extra virgin, organic preferred
- 1 onion, minced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
- 1 cauliflower greens, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1/4 cup water
- salt to taste
- 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped fine
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in the pan
- Add mustard seeds and cook until they just start to pop
- Turn heat to medium
- Add onions and saute until starting to soften
- Add garlic and saute one minute more
- Add curry powder and stir well
- Add cauliflower, greens, and water
- Reduce heat to low, cover and cook 8-10 minutes until cauliflower is tender
- Season with salt and cilantro
The Romanesco came out delicious! I used two small heads. It looked really pretty too (I took a pic but couldn’t figure out how to post it)
Mira
mmmm…love those mustard seeds too – thanks, I think I’ll make some tonight
Trudy
I think it should work just fine. The important thing is that the cauliflower be tender but not mushy. Let me know how it goes.
Sounds delicious, Mira. We’ll likely get some Romanesco cauliflower from our CSA soon. Think the recipe would work with that variety as well?