cauliflower – Food That We Make

Cauliflower and Leek Risotto

hannahnicklin — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 23:05:31 +0000

ECONOMY DRIVE TIME. So a month into freelancing and it turns out unpredictable money is SCARY. Especially just before Christmas. The stuff it allows me to do is totally worth it, but I’m also starting to try and really reduce food spend. Just until I have some goddam reserves built up. So, enter a phase on Food That We Make of cheap things. But still tasty. Always tasty. First up, a super simple leek and cauliflower risotto. The rice, cauliflower and leeks all cheap cheap cheap. A little bit of cheese goes a long way, and cheap cooking wine will last a long while for it. I still didn’t scrimp on fresh parsley, though. It lifts the flavour too much to take out. So yeah, big amount, good flavour, very filling. My version makes the cauli quite smooshy, and I like the melty cauli style, but if you like your brassicas firm, then remove all stalkage and add with 15-20 minutes to go.

Serves: 4 | Prep Time: 10 mins | Cook time about 30-40 mins
Nutritional Info: 593 kcal, 74g carbs, 25g fat, 15g protein

Ingredients pic!

weigh everything out, slice the leeks thinly, crush and chop the garlic, break the cauliflower into florets, taking off the thickest bit of the stalks. Set the stock on to boil. Heat the oil in a well big pan.

Add the garlic, leeks and cauli and soften over the heat for 5-10 mins

Add the risotto rice, stir through and cook for about 2 mins until the rice is slightly glossy

Add the wine, stir until absorbed

If you’re not in a mega rush like I was, add the stock a bit by bit until absorbed and the rice is al dente. If in a massive rush add it all and hope it’s the right amount. Reduce for about 2o-25 mins

When it’s reduced, add the butter and parmesan, stir through for a couple minute more

Then add the parsley, season to taste (loads of black pepper) and serve. Voila:

15 minute cauliflower curry

hannahnicklin — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 18:50:11 +0000

Sometimes ‘cheap’ and ‘quick’ is tied joint first with ‘tasty’ and ‘healthy’ on your list of priorities. Especially if you have things like a family, or a ‘career’ in the arts. For those occasions, this recipe. 20 minutes including prep. Mainly if it takes you FIVE ACTUAL MINUTES to chop onion, garlic and break up a cauliflower. This is also one of those recipes that actual benefits from those weird (much cheaper) pellets of frozen spinach as opposed to the fresh stuff. Based on a Good Food recipe, I think. And vegan, like. You should also totes make your own curry paste. I hadn’t thought about that but I should probably blog my recipe, huh? It’s just puree’d garlic, ginger, onion, tomato mixed with spices and oil. Do that.

Prep time: 5 mins | Cook time: 15 mins | Serves: 2 (1 pictured)
Nutritional Info: 271 kcals, protein 12g, carbs 18.1g, fat 17.2 g, sat fat 1.4g, fibre 7.5g, salt 0.85 g

Ingredients pic:

soften the onion and garlic for 3 minutes or so

Add the curry paste, stir for 2-3mins until fragrant

Add the cauliflower, stir to coat, then add the chopped tomatoes and water, stir to mix

Then cover, and cook for 10 minutes. Put the rice (50g per person, well rinsed, 120ml water per person, cover and DO NOT UNCOVER, heat until all the water has boiled away and then set aside, still covered, to steam until the rest is ready)

Then, when the cauliflower is cooked, or about 10 mins in, stir in the spinach, and just before serving, the chopped coriander:

Serve with rice, or a naan or pitta instead. Tasty, quick, cheap. Awesomeness.

Cauliflower & Chickpeas and the best Garlic Bread in the world.

alexanderkelly — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 22:17:00 +0000

Working for three months in Portugal a few years ago made us realise how much we used recipe books – because we didn’t take any with us. We did an email out to friends for any favourite recipes and this was the first thing we made (thanks Naomi). I still make it about once a fortnight.

It’s so simple – a real more-than-the-sum-of-its-parts recipe.

I took the obligatory ingredients photo…

then thought, there’s something missing…aha!

Rinse the chickpeas, put in a pan with water and set to warm over a low heat.

Break the cauliflower into medium and small florets, and steam for 8 – 10 minutes:

If you’re using fresh coriander, chop a bunch of it finely.
Chop the lemons and juice them.

When the cauliflower is done, drain the pan and turn off the heat. Put the cauliflower back into the pan, drizzle with olive oil.
Drain the chickpeas, add to the cauliflower.

Add the lemon juice and chopped coriander/coriander paste.
Add more olive oil. Stir it all round so the cauliflower breaks up a bit more.
That’s it. Remember how much coriander, lemon juice and olive oil you’ve used, and adjust next time as necessary.

This garlic bread is inspired the way they used to make it in the cafe at Arnolfini in Bristol, back “in the day”. I use 1 and a half rolls per person, 1 clove of garlic per roll, and a big spread of butter per half roll.

Preheat the grill.
Crush the garlic and mix with the butter. No, probably best to use a bit more butter than that.
Tear the rolls in half (don’t cut them) so they’re uneven.
Spread with the garlic butter. I say spread, I mean smother.

Put under the grill – watch them carefully. (I usually put them under the grill quite late – once I’m already mixing the cauliflower and chickpeas together).

That’s it.

Serve with a nice Portuguese red, preferably an Alentejo.

COOKING! Slightly more interesting Cauliflower Cheese…

hannahnicklin — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 22:03:00 +0000

This was pretty much a straight test of this here recipe which I found when looking for ways to make Cauliflower Cheese feel a little bit more like, y’know, a whole meal. I don’t have a problem with yellow things, I just want my meals to be made of more than that. So yes, this is like a cauliflower cheese pasta spinachy tomato bake. I followed it pretty straight, but couldn’t afford pine nuts, and think that another time round I’d stir an egg yolk into the cheese sauce, use an awful lot more cheddar in the sauce, and put grated mozarella on top instead. Served it with salad, but would be equally as nice with some home-made garlic bread. This didn’t amaze me, but I think would be a good one for lots of people or kids.

Instructions:

Make all the separate bits: The tomato sauce as I made it takes about 20 minutes and should go on first

Set the cauliflower and penne off in the same massive salted water filled pan

Then make the cheese sauce – butter melted, add flour and then milk slowly whisking, thicken. Take it off the boil and add the cheddar and half the blue cheese, half the nutmeg, and stir in the egg yolk.

The melt some butter in a frying pan and wilt the spinach with the rest of the nutmeg, some garlic, and seasoning.

Then combine:

put 300ml of the cheese sauce aside and mix the rest with the cauliflower and pasta.

Get a massive dish, or several small ones and make the following layers: tomato/spinach/cauliflower and pasta/spinach/tomato and pour over the remaining cheese sauce and top with remaining cheeses.

I’ve made 4 small ones which I cooled and then froze at this point. The one I was eating tonight I cooked at about 200C (gas 6) for about 20 minutes

Hello World

hannahnicklin — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 00:17:00 +0000

First post is a test, reposting a recipe I posted recently.

This was bloody tasty, based on this recipe: http://j.mp/9GGDI8

The amount in the linked recipe will probably feed me for 3 main meals and one snack, all made for less than a fiver. Also entirely vegan, and nicer than cooking with soya cream. It’s very mild, but I’m sure you can work out how to spice it up if you want.

Modifications:

I put 4 cloves, a bay leaf, 1cm of a cinnamon stick, and a cardamon pod in with the onions.

I also made my own curry paste out of a glug of oil, and 1 tbsp each of tumeric, garam masala and ground coriander. Also a staple fell in from one of my spice bags. I don’t think it added to the flavour substantially.

Finally, I added mushrooms and reduced the potatoes to one. MOAR VEG.

Served with brown rice with pilau rice spice. If you can be arsed to make your own naan, DO, this will go brilliantly with it.

All together now: OM NOM.