In further vegetable adventures, we got a cauliflower from our fruit & veg people last week.
We stared. We poked it. We discussed how odd and weird and smelly cauliflower can be.
Okay, by “we” I really mean me. But somehow we decided to try mashing it, the way a couple local restaurants have, with butter and garlic.
Hello, smashed cauliflower, one of my new favorite things ever.
It’s a lot easier and a hell of a lot more fun to experiement with trying new foods when one removes all of the “shoulds” and other artificially assigned moral values to food.
To make smashed cauliflower, cut your cauliflower up and boil it until you can poke it with a fork and it is tender – meaning the fork goes in easily. Drain, put your cauliflower in a bowl, and go to town with a fork, ricer, or other mashing implement. Hell, smash it with your hands if you are having a particularly stressful day! Then add garlic and butter to taste.
Then, prepare to have your mind blown by how good it is. For reals.
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You can also steam the cauliflower in the microwave, if you don’t want to heat up the kitchen too much.
I designate/hijack this thread to talk about vegetables we thought we hated, and the cooking processes that make them great!
Brussels sprouts are my big one. Thought I hated them until I had them roasted. Cut in half, drizzle with olive oil, and roast at 400 until awesome! (I know I’ve said that recipe many times.)
It is remarkably good. Quite a worthy substitute for smashed taters, IMO, as well, if you have some reason to need to avoid them. To increase the decadence factor, add cream to the mixture. I also had amazing success once adding CREAM CHEESE to it. One word of warning, though–make sure you take away all the woody stem parts. Trying to blend those in later simply won’t work, and it’ll ruin the texture. Save those for the soup pot instead.
Yum. Now I’m hungry for cauliflower!
PS: PURPLE cauliflower. With orange cheese sauce. Is it a dish? Is it an art project? You decide!
DawnD, I don’t have any particular reason to avoid potatoes but this is tasty and amazing in its own right!
Thread hijacked, Fillyjonk! I hated brussel sprouts until the exact same thing. If they are a little crispy, I am in heaven. ZOMG.
It is good that I am eating lunch right now or this thread would make me so freakin’ hungry.
Part A the First: the post title made me snort out loud. Very Monty Python fist-from-the-sky smashing it, with a fart sound effect. Heehee!
Also, yum. I had thought curry was one of the few flavor enhancers that worked well with cauliflower but now I’ll try this. And big YES to DawnD’s purple cauliflower. You can also do the yellow-orange-tinged ones which are very pretty, if less fantastically purple.
Hmm. I am allergic to potatoes, so, sadly I need to avoid them, and this sounds like a really good substitute.
I never liked cabbage until I tried it fried Chinese-style in peanut oil. Mmm.
That cauliflower recipe sounds gooood.
I like to steam broccoli with sea salt, cracked black pepper, and a few red pepper flakes. Sometimes a tiny bit of lemon as well. Some days I dump a mess of olive oil or butter on top of this. It’s good without the added fat, though. Nom.
I hate all squash, aside from pumpkin. If anyone can make it yummy I will be greatful. It’s a texture thing.
I never liked asparagus until I had it grilled, lightly brushed with olive oil and with a wee bit of of salt & pepper.
One Bite, I like broccoli almost any way it can be prepared. I like it with lemon juice and salt, and with olive oil and garlic, and in my pasta, and and and! Yay for broccoli! The red pepper flakes sound good.
Rosie, our yellow squash went bad before we could figure out what to do with it. But zucchini, I can help with that. You just have to very lightly stir fry it with olive oil, chili oil, and mushrooms. It’s AWESOME.
Asparagus…. I miss it. I’m actually allergic to it.
Yellow squash is awesome cooked the following way:
Slice into thin rounds (not too thick or it takes too long to cook)
Heat up some oil in a frying pan…I always use plain old vegetable oil, but you could probably get fancy
Dredge rounds in flour till lightly coated
Fry till golden brown
Lightly salt
Hope you don’t burn your tongue
I also like it cubed with zucchini, sauteed in olive oil, seasoned with a little garlic, salt, and pepper, and sprinkled with some grated parmesan.
I’m actually one of those strange people that pretty much likes all vegetables – at least all the ones I’ve tried.
But, having children, I’m always looking for different ways to serve them. They, too, like veggies, but they get a bit bored having them the same way every time.
One thing I’ve found is that if I make vegetarian versions of certain dishes, my kids gobble them up like there’s no tomorrow. Veggie Indian, for example. I get the sauce (curry, Korma, etc.), get a bunch of different veggies, stir-fry them, add the sauce and serve over rice. My kids think it’s great. I’ve done the same thing with pasta.
But my Grandma’s (okay, really Great-Grandma’s) Polish fried cabbage with caraway seeds? HEAVEN.
I HATED beets until I tried them roasted with lots of butter and garlic. MMMMMM.
My husband hates beets and winter squash and ate tons of them at Thanksgiving last year when they were, you guessed it, cubed and roasted with butter and garlic.
Almost any green vegetable is improved by adding sesame oil to it.
Going Loopy, that sounds ACES. I’ll have to try it next time we have squash. Do you peel it in any way before cutting the rounds or do you just slice?
nuckingfutz, I was not a huge fan of a ton of veggies as a kid – I had some that I loved beyond all reason but there were others that were presented as diet food and that definitely colored my perception of them. And some were just overcooked grossness. That memory is my biggest barrier to eating squash.
liz, you may have found the secret – ANYTHING is improved when it becomes a conveyor of garlic and/or butter to the mouth. *drool*
A little curry or masala powder in with this is good as well.
As far as squash, acorn squash has a similar texture to pumpkin, or you can try spaghetti squash.
I do the same thing with yellow squash as with zucchini — slice really thin and sautee with olive oil and garlic. Obviously you guys are on to that.
I serve it on noodles with feta cheese, and I say “I” because this is actually the one thing I do cook when left to my own devices. (Boyfriend cooks all other things.) It’s important to let it go pretty brown.
I just want to state for the record that artichoke hearts are my one true love. I may have little else, but I’ll always have my artichoke hearts.
As for making squash more likeable, try cutting one in quarters, put it in a pan with foil around/slightly over it, and roast that sucker (probably at 350 degrees) until it’s nice and soft and ready to be slathered in butter, salt, and pepper.
I’m so happy the grilling season is about to kick off because I love nothing more than seeing what vegetables grill well.
Jane, I hope you have discovered how gorgeously portobello mushrooms grill up. Get the caps, brush both sides with oil of your choice (mine always involves garlic) and then grill to perfection. They make an amazing veggie alternative to hamburgers.
I could never stand green beans until I recently tried fresh ones. Boil the trimmed beans for 3-5 minutes then coat with olive oil, toasted almonds, roasted garlic, and salt. Mmmmm…. why would anyone eat the weird-colored ones from a can when you can have such tasty deliciousness for about the same price and a very slight amount of additional effort?
Rosie ~ I LOVE squash! The way I cook it is to slice it; boil it until tender; drain it and then (like the cauliflower) SMASH until really smooshed (or squashed heehee). Drain the water out again. Add good amounts of real butter and mix it all up with salt and black pepper (season salt is a favorite here). OMG. Delicious! ^^
Liz ~ Sesame oil is my new favorite oil! A tiny dash added to Olive Oil before I add my garlic and other veggies just makes for an AWESOME flavor in anything
I’ll have to try brussles the way Fillyjonk mentioned cause I’ve always hated those. OH and if anyone else figures out how to make those saw-dusty lima-beans tasty, let it be known!
Mmmm now I want some squash….
Since others have already mentioned curry spices with cauliflower, I’ll just note that my favorite way of eating it growing up was with a delicious mustard sauce my mother used to make. She mixed up Dijon mustard with crushed Corn Flakes, of all things, into a thick paste and put that on steamed cauliflower. It doesn’t sound so great, but it was to die for.
Cauliflower is a greatly underappreciated vegetable, in my not so humble opinion.
My favorite way to eat zucchini and yellow squash is a recipe for “Zucchini, Squash and Carrot Coins.” Sautee some chopped onions in a large pan in equal amounts of olive oil and butter (don’t skimp on it, either) until the onions start to brown around the edges. Add the sliced carrots, zucchini and squash, along with a LOT of basil, and sautee it until the squash starts to brown around the edges (all that browning brings out the natural sugars). SO GOOD!
Mmm, smashed cauliflower. Or mashed. Or pureed. It’s just plain good stuff. You can add so many flavorings or cheeses or not.
Roasted cauliflower is also magic. There are loads of recipes on the web, but the basics are to slice a whole head thinly, toss with a good amount of olive oil, salte, and pepper, spread it out in a single layer on a baking sheet, and roast at 400F or so for about 20 minutes, turn it all over, and roast for another 20 minutes or so until it’s soft and there are wonderful brown caramelized bits on all the edges and all the little crumbles are brown and then try not to eat it all in the first minute.
As for summer squash: I slice it or cut it into sticks, lightly oil it, and then cook it on the grill. Maybe two minutes a side. Then toss it with seasonings like a spice blend or garlic salt or something.
You can grill thin skinned winter squash too, like acorn or delicata. Cut in half, deseed, then cut each half into 1/2″ thick slices. Lightly oil and grill until soft and caramelized. This is really good tossed with a honey chipotle vinaigrette.
There really aren’t any veggies I can think of (save lettuce- but if its a dark enough leafy green…)) that don’t improve with butter and garlic.
TR – No peeling, only slicing.
That goes for the sauteed version as well.
“OH and if anyone else figures out how to make those saw-dusty lima-beans tasty, let it be known!”
I pureed them and stir them into my refried beans. The texture is the same, and it doesn’t alter the flavor.
Anyone have a good cucumber salad recipe? I bought one too many, and I don’t want it to go bad.
Thank you for reminding me that I have been meaning to try this at home! I also appreciate the zucchini/yellow squash pasta idea because now that I like broccoli, I think summer squashes are the one remaining vegetable that I really dislike. They’re so… acidic and watery, somehow.
Regarding squash, I do love winter squash now, and I think it’s important to a) find one that is the right level of ripeness (though I have no idea how you do this) so it is not stringy or woody, and b) cook it pretty thoroughly. We will often halve it, brush the cut side with oil, wrap it in foil, and grill it for a while. This is tastier, (mmm, caramelized parts), easier, and neater than trying to steam or bake it. Then scoop it out of the skin and add butter, salt, and pepper–DH and I both thought we disliked sweet potatoes and squash before we got over the idea that you have to sweeten them (which is common around here–you “dress up” sweet potatoes, carrots, or squash for holiday meals with maple syrup or brown sugar or (gulp) orange jell-o or something). You can also put the puree through a food mill or food processor if you are worried that it will still be too stringy.
My family likes cauliflower with hollendaise sauce, pretty traditional I know. Broccoli too.
I also like to mash carrots in with my potatoes when I make mashed potatoes. It adds a bit of sweetness that I like.
Mashed sweet potatoes are also yummy. Slice three or four thin and cook with a couple tablespoons butter and a quarter cup of cream until tender, add a teaspoon of sugar and salt to taste and mash. Much nice than the ones thick with brown sugar I think.
Squash became a revelation to me when I started using the recipes at epicurious.com – there’s one with fennel and spice that I love, and a maple syrup and lemon and butter and apples that’s sweet and sour that I love almost as much. Anyway, I use epicurious for almost everything. If it’s got 3 or more forks, I’ll like it. Democracy and my taste buds get along.
What I haven’t yet done is venture into the world of eggplant, which has the ignoble title of Only Veggie I Dislike. But I haven’t really TRIED eggplant since the slimy slimerson eggplant casseroles of my yoot.
Second the roasted cauliflower- it’s my favorite way to make it. It’s good plain, but also marvelous with a little garlic-anchovy sauce: just heat some minced garlic and a few anchovies in olive oil until the garlic just gilds and the anchovies fall apart, just a very few minutes. Drizzle over roasted cauliflower. You can add hot pepper flakes if you like a bit of heat. Anchovy-garlic-hot pepper sauce also makes cooked broccoli worth eating.
Adding to the roasted cauliflower love — when I’ve tossed the florets with olive oil, I then throw in about 2 tsp each of cinnamon, paprika, and brown sugar, and a little S&P, and roast at 515 until the edges are crispy. (I crack the oven door open for about 5 seconds a couple times to let the steam escape.) MmmmmmMMMM. If my husband isn’t home, I invariably eat the entire head of cauliflower myself, like it was candy.
Okay, I’m going grocery shopping tonight after work, and I am SO buying some cauliflower to smash.
One of my personal favorite things to do is roast zucchini that’s been brushed (or, more usually, slathered) in a good garlicky tomato sauce. Most of the time I throw in some chopped onions and bell peppers too; it works wonderfully with chicken or pasta, and I’ve even made subs with it a few times. Messy, but so worthwhile.
Cauliflower in curry is the best thing ever. It was weird to grow up and find that I didn’t hate spinach/mushrooms/eggplant/etc. – my mother did! In fact, I like every single vegetable except brussel sprouts (yes, I know some people love them, but even cooked properly and with lashings of butter, they have a horrible bitter taste to them, for me.)
God, you guys are making me SO HUNGRY and my CSA doesn’t start for another two weeks.
Lima beans: I like them with steamed rice and butter and a whole load of dill. It’s middle eastern but I can’t remember the name.
Sometimes I cook the cauliflower in chicken broth when I do this.
Cauliflower rocks my socks, but I never thought of smashing it! By the gods, this will make it a whole new experience! Just with butter and salt or something, hmmmmmmm …
Or garlic. I might try that if I overcome my fear of smelly breath.
Roasted brussels sprouts sound good, too. I love them things anyway, ever since I grew up. And and and! Oh, these suggestions are all awesome!
I really need to try new vegetable recipes because I hardly ever eat any. So this came in handy.
Also good in mashed cauliflower is some hazlenut meal and saffron – there’s a place we eat locally that does it mashed with these things in, and it’s a revelation.
And anyone who doesn’t like brussels sprouts should try slicing them thinly, and frying in butter with pancetta (or bacon lardons – if bacon lardons you have to start frying them first), garlic, and a dash of balsamic. I guarantee you’ll like them after that!
Whoever didn’t like green beans, when I was a kid my dad used to cook them in chicken broth instead of water. I loved that. Also, I ate ketchup on my lima beans.
Cauliflower is best eaten raw, IMO. And thanks for all the squash tips, I shall try some!
I love cauliflower and I never thought about doing this before. I’ll have to try it.
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