There are probably two major groups of you out there. Those who like cauliflower and those who don’t. But, I have to wonder out of those that say they do not like it, how many of you have even tried it? And, out of that group, how many haven’t tried it only because you do not know what to do with the big round bouquet? Or, going back to the group who does like this vegetable, I bet numerous of you have not yet tried to make it in your own home kitchen. I’m guessing that the biggest obstacle is simply knowing how to cut into one. So, let’s learn!
Start by tearing off the leaves on the bottom of the cauliflower. Don’t worry about removing the stalk quite yet. We’ll get there.
Next, give it a good rinse and pat it dry. Don’t skip this step, unless you like to eat little dead insects plastered against the stems. Mmmmm…munch, munch!
Now we can remove the stalk by using a paring knife to cut the stems around it. Lift it out and discard, or save it (along with the leaves) to make vegetable broth.
Cut into each stem and then pull the florets loose.
To make smaller bite-sized chunks, use the paring knife to slice into the trunk of the larger florets and it will easily break into two or more pieces.
That’s it! Now that you know how easy it is to cut into a cauliflower, Friday I will share a simple way for prepping the cauliflower for consumption. Of course, you can eat it raw and serve it just as it is above on a veggie platter. But, I especially encourage the group of you that do not like cauliflower to come back and check out Friday’s recipe. I bet you’ll find yourself popping these into your mouth like popcorn!
Georgia @ The Comfort of Cooking says
March 23, 2011 at 10:46 AMThis is very useful, Nikki! I’ve been wanting to make mashed cauliflower for a while but have been kind of intimidated by the vegetable itself. I’ll be picking one up soon, though, and following your tips. Thanks for sharing!
April says
March 23, 2011 at 8:21 PMI find it much easier to cut it the way Rachel Ray does-you don’t remove the leaves at all. You just quarter the thing and cut into the end on a bias, thus removing all leaves an stalk from that quarter in one cut. Plus usually half of it turns into instant florets at that point. I do agree though, it can be a pain to cut up!
Nikki says
March 23, 2011 at 9:13 PMHi April,
That does sound easy, however, if you do not remove the leaves first then your rinse will not be as thorough. I’ve tried it that way before and it ended up quite messy.