As I was going through my daily blog feeds recently, I noticed a general trend in recipe posts. They all shared one common ingredient: cauliflower!
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Roasted Cauliflower Soup with Cumin
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As much as I love and appreciate the benefits that kale brings, I for one am getting sick of the kale-is-the-holy-grail mentality that people have had. Yes, its health benefits are never ending and yes, it makes for a great salad and smoothie addition but there are so many under appreciated vegetables out there that do just the same!
Enter the cauliflower, a vegetable that has been around since forever but always seen as broccoli's ugly step sister. But step aside, 2014 is cauliflower's year.
Gluten free and diabetic friendly with a low glycaemic index, cauliflower is a close substitute in dishes that call for traditional carbs or protein. It's a good source of Vitamin C, folate, potassium and fibre. 100 grams of raw cauliflower (~1 cup) holds 25 calories, 2 grams of protein, 0.3 grams of fat, 2 grams of dietary fibre, 2 grams of sugars and 5 grams of carbs. And since they are in the same vegetable family as broccoli, they are rich in organic compounds called indoles, which have a positive impact on your health.
The things you can do with cauliflower are endless. Eat it raw or finely chop it up for a couscous texture. Or caramelise it in a skillet or puree it. Steam it and eat it on its own or blend it to create a mashed potato texture. Speaking of which, did you know cauliflower when mashed tastes exactly like mashed potatoes? but with fewer calories and fat and 30% less carbs too.
At Cedar Restaurant in Washington, cauliflower is grated into little pieces to resemble rice and cooked into a risotto. All the flavour but none of the calories! In Superba Snack Bar in California, cauliflower replaces T-bone steak with a thick slab of grilled cauliflower
In Toronto, cauliflower is showing no shortage on restaurant menus. Drake One Fifty offers a roasted cauliflower with black truffles. Bannock has a warm cauliflower and white anchovy salad and the recent Home of the Brave has replaced buffalo wings with cauliflower .
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Bannock's warm cauliflower and white anchovy salad
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What do you think? Do you like cauliflower and love that this could be the new trend?
