How to Cook Flowers
I grouped broccoli and cauliflower because they are related. Both are the flowers of their respective plant and because I now cook them the same way.
Broccoli isn’t a vegetable that gets much respect from the restaurant world. It makes its way onto plates because it’s easy. It’s a bright burst of color, and people know they should be eating more vegetables. This isn’t a recipe for success. Nobody does anything for long because they should.
If you do steam broccoli at home, probably for one of those reasons listed when it’s finished cooking, season it with salt, lemon juice, and a drizzle of olive oil. Seasoning will take your broccoli to the second level.
But if you want to give plain old broccoli and cauliflower a little more love, roasting broccoli is a better way to eat it.
The Simplest Recipe
Roasting caramelizes the natural sugars. The bitterness from browning complements the bitter flavors of the vegetables. It’s harder to overcook when you roast. The vegetables retain a firmer texture, as opposed to boiling or steaming.
This recipe below works the same for either broccoli or cauliflower. The cooking time might vary slightly depending on the size of the pieces.
I usually cook broccoli plain with just salt and pepper, but I will enhance cauliflowers’ neutral flavor with a few herbs or spices. (Try Italian seasoning or smoked paprika.)
Here are the specifics:
My two favorite parts of this cooking method are that it is easier, the oven does all the work, and there is no cleanup if you use parchment paper.
Roasted Broccoli or Cauliflower
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large head of broccoli or cauliflower, cut into florets, about 4-5 cups
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- A squeeze of half a lemon or a sprinkle of white wine or cider vinegar
Preheat the oven to 400 ºF. Place broccoli florets in a large bowl, drizzle on the olive oil, salt, and pepper; toss thoroughly. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and pour the vegetables onto the baking sheet in a single layer. Cook for 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven, spritz with lemon juice or cider vinegar, serve right away.
More Details
These now-familiar vegetables have become popular because of their nutritional makeup and low cost. Machine harvesting and cutting reduce labor costs and allow us to find florets ready to eat at most grocery stores.
But broccoli and cauliflower are both flowers, and like the ones that you might pick to decorate the table, these need tender care. The flowers that make up the broccoli heads are still respiring or breathing. This respiration contributes to the degradation of the plant.
The pre-cut florets are kept in modified atmospheric packaging, which makes them beautiful on the store shelves, but the quality changes over time. The flowers give off ethylene gas, which changes the taste and smell. The smell is evident when you open up an old bag.
Storage and preparation at home
Store the heads loosely wrapped in plastic bags cut the heads into florets when you cook them. Use broccoli within one week of purchase. Cauliflower will last a little longer if needed.
Each broccoli and cauliflower plant grows to be about 2-3 feet in diameter. The entire plant, leaves, stem, and flower is edible. If you get your vegetables direct from the farm, you might get more leaves than you see at the grocery store. Save them and cook them like kale or cabbage.
If you have broccoli with long stems, eat the stems too. Peel the stem to remove the fibrous outer layer, then chop into pieces and cook together. If you have any aversion to the floret’s texture, I find the stem’s mild flavor and smooth texture benefit a novice veggie eater.
With cauliflower, cut out the core and break or cut the florets apart. Just like broccoli stems, you can eat the center. The core is perfect for shredding and making a salad or the now infamous cauliflower “rice.”
A few more recipes
Broccoli Salad
- 3 cups chopped raw broccoli, leaves, florets, and stems (peel the thick, coarse stem pieces as needed)
- ¼ cup chopped cooked bacon
- ¼ cup roasted sunflower seeds
- ¼ cup finely diced red onion
- ¼ cup dried cranberries, coarsely chopped
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon vinegar, red or white wine or good apple cider vinegar (balsamic is not recommended)
- 1-2 teaspoons sugar (optional)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Combine all ingredients and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before eating.
A little more complicated recipe
This Cauliflower Salad is a little more involved but worth the time.
Let it sit overnight in the fridge, if possible. It’s even better the next day.
Roasted Cauliflower Salad
- 1/2 cup raw wheat berries
- 2 cups of water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ of a large head of cauliflower, cut into florets
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- salt and pepper
- ¼ cup toasted almonds
- ¼ cup chopped raisins
- ¼ cup chopped parsley
- ¼ preserved lemon wedge, finely chopped (alternatively, zest from one lemon and 1 tablespoon lemon juice)
- ½ teaspoon red chili flakes
Heat the wheat berries, water, and 1 teaspoon salt in a small saucepan, bring to a boil and then simmer gently until the berries start to split. Preheat the oven to 400 ºF. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, toss the cauliflower florets with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt, and fresh ground pepper. Pour out the cauliflower onto the baking sheet and arrange in a single layer. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes. You can use the bowl for the next step. Add the parsley to the bowl with the almonds, raisins, cooked wheat berries, preserved lemon, and red chili flakes. When the cauliflower is cooked, add it to the bowl and toss together. Taste first and, if necessary, season with more lemon juice, salt, pepper, or olive oil.
You have a lot and need to store it.
Freeze it. After freezing, broccoli and cauliflower will still be excellent for soup or a cooked application like quiche.
- Cut the head up into small pieces. Blanch in boiling water for 30 seconds, then quickly cool in an ice water bath. Lay the broccoli out to dry and then freeze it.
Alternatively, cauliflower is great for making pickles and ferments. These preservations will last through the off-season.
Broccoli and Cauliflower Trivia
Once the farmer harvests the main head, he tills the plant’s remaining portion into the soil. If you grow your own broccoli, the plant will continue to produce small florets after you pick the head.
Enjoy them for what they are
Cauliflower has become popular recently as a substitute for grains in many recipes. There are recipes all over the internet for cauliflower rice, couscous, pizza crust, etc.
I understand the concept of eating more vegetables, but I like to eat vegetables for what they are and not what we might want them to be.