For today´s recipe in my River Cottage Veg Everyday series, I chose the Asian inspired "Stir-fried sesame cauliflower". Cauliflower is available year round, and abundantly so this month, making this lovely vegetable a good choice for the eleventh post in my series.
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall comments his recipe with the following words “cauliflower takes strong seasonings exceptionally well and this easy stir-fry – flavoured with chili, garlic and ginger – is a good example”. After taking one bite of this dish, I could not agree with him more.
This vegetable stir-fry is quickly put together and you can enjoy this as a full meal or as a side-dish. The cauliflower florets get a ten minute soak in cold water. The sesame seeds get toasted for a good minute or two until fragrant. In the meantime, you need to stir-fry some onion, two garlic cloves, chili and freshly grated ginger. Then add the drained cauliflower florets and continue to stir-fry. Finally, add the sesame seeds, good quality toasted sesame oil, low sodium soy sauce and finish with fresh coriander - although I took the liberty of adding coarsely chopped Italian parsley instead, as my dear family is not all that crazy about fresh coriander (one of the very few items that they do not really enjoy all that much).
All of us really enjoyed this stir-fried sesame cauliflower – the fresh ginger and the chilies are wonderful in combination with the mild, delicate flavor of the cauliflower. It is true that this vegetable can certainly take some strong seasonings such as the soy sauce and the toasted sesame oil without being overpowered. This recipe seems to be nice variation on the other cauliflower recipes that I usually prepare. I also appreciated the fact that the stir-fried cauliflower florets kept their shape and still looked nice when plated.
Cauliflower is often overlooked, but you should definitely try it in this vegetable stir-fry for a plateful of crunchy goodness with a delightful Asian twist. Inexpensive and local, it ticks all the right boxes, so make sure not to skimp on this wonderful vegetable while it is fresh and abundantly available.
If you own the English edition of this vegetable cookbook, you will find the recipe for the “Stir-fried sesame cauliflower” on page 376 in the chapter on "Side Dishes".
Delicious Andrea! We love cauliflower, and we also love stir-fries. Clearly this would be a winner! We're traveling now, but I'm eager to get back home just so I can try this. Thank you for sharing. Give the girls a big hug!
ReplyDeleteMonet, thanks very much - this is an easy recipe, especially if you own a wok. The ingredients are widely available and except for the fresh cauliflower, pantry items at our house. Hope your trip is going well and Lucy is having fun with you all! Hugs!
DeleteOMG. It’s like I want to lick my screen!
ReplyDeleteWell, hopefully you would like this dish then! You are making me smile, my dear!
DeleteThe hubby will finally eat cauliflower...and your version looks fantastic!
ReplyDeleteLiz, thank you very much - my hubby loved this and so did the kids and I and this dish is really easy to love if you like Asian imspired food.
DeleteI must confess I have been guilty of overlooking the humble cauliflower. To be honest it was never a favourite as a kid which is probably why I tend to pass it by in favour of other vegetables. This is the first time I have looked at a recipe for cauliflower and have been tempted to try it again, it looks really delicious!
ReplyDeleteKaren, you might really enjoy this recipe - I know from my own experience that my tastehas chnged quite a bit over time. I used to have a certain dislike for olives, nowadays I adore them - things change overtime and you might consider giving this recipe a try!
DeleteHOW did I miss this post?
ReplyDeleteI love roasted cauliflower. My family would love this as a side to anything.
Can't wait to try it.
Hope you're having a wonderful Tuesday, Andrea love. oxo
Colette, I was visiting one of the largest food fairs in the world yesterday and my feet hurt so much, I barely made it home but it was a fantastic experience! That was my lovely Tuesday. Now it is Wednesday here and I just returned home from grocery shopping with two glorious heads of cauliflower - guess what I am making today?!
DeleteYummy!! Love cauliflower. Need to try this recipe
ReplyDeleteThanks so much - you will not be disappaointed, I am sure, if you get a chance to make this either as a side dish or as a main course.
DeleteMark and I both love cauliflower and this Asian-inspired version sounds wonderful. I had not seen this in the book yet - we will be excited to try it when we get home! I have never heard of soaking the florets before - does that keep them crisp? Liebe Grüße aus Venedig... ~ David
ReplyDeleteDavid, soaking the florets before stir-frying them definitely keeps them crisp - which is what you want in this recipe. Now I have tried a variation of this recipe any briefly steamed the florets in the steamer basket, drained them and let thel cool before I added them to the stir-fry. Following this method, the florets still kept their shape but were somewhat less crunchy - this way, you could prep this easy srir-fry well in advance and do not have to worry about soaking when you want to eat.
DeleteHope all is well in Venice!!! Ganz liebe Grüße an euch!!!!
I love cauliflower, and this is wonderful, Andrea! My kids eat broccoli fine but they have no interest in cauliflowers. I need to change that because I love it and want to include in my cooking more. :)
ReplyDeleteNami, you always prepare such wonderful vegetable dishes using all kinds of wonderful ingredients - maybe there is eevn some room for that lovely cauliflower, dear friend!
DeleteN'étant pas un grand amateur de chou-fleur, j'ai été étonné de me dire que cette recette m'a fait reconsidérer mon opinion sur ce légume.
ReplyDeleteBon travail et jolies photos !
Mon cher Nicolas, je te remercie mille fois pour ton gentil commentaire!
DeleteWhat a delicious way to serve cauliflower. I love the ginger and the chili seasoning.
ReplyDeleteThanks Geraldine, I am always on the lookout for delicious and interesting ways to serve cauliflower - this recipe received rave reviews and I will be making this again, for sure.
DeleteOmgoodness,
ReplyDeleteyou can make "even" cauliflower look tremendous! Xx
Kim, you are too kind - cauliflower does indeed tend to be somewhat unphotogenic but certainly tasty. So fun to read that you like the presentation.
DeleteCauliflower is top of the list of vegetables that I vowed never to eat again once I was grown up :) I absolutely love it (unless boiled to death in what passed for 'cuisine grandmere' of my childhood.) I'll probably do half parsley and half coriander as I have a coriander hater in my house too.
ReplyDelete(p.s. Andrea, you must think me terribly ungrateful re the madeleine tin but I can't find your email address to send you my contact details. I did have my eyes tested recently and got the OK but still... Would you mind sending it to me at hester[at]alchemyinthekitchen.ie please)
Hester, corinander seems to divide the nations...seriously, no fresh coriander in our house, I have made a habit of substituting freshly chopped Italian parsley whenever I can.
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