Cooking with Chefs
Season Two: Episode Six
Here you can see the flowers forming on the head of green cauliflower.
All About Cauliflower
A star vegetable known for its versatility, cauliflower is often under-appreciated when it comes to creating exciting meals and snacks.
It all started with cabbage.
Cauliflower is in the plant family Brassica oleracea. These family of vegetables all came from the cultivation of wild cabbage. Through breeding, farmers were able to give us a variety of common vegetables in the same plant species, including kale, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts.
Fun facts about cauliflower
The part of the cauliflower plant that you eat are the flowers of the plant. Cauli (means cabbage) and "flower."
The cluster of flowers is called the curd or a head.
If you didn't pick the cauliflower, it would bloom like other flowers.
There are 4 different colors of cauliflowers: white, purple, green, and orange.
Cauliflower isn't easy to grow.
When cooked, it has a mild flavor. This makes it a great vegetable to use like rice or pureed in sauces (like alfredo) and even in doughs.
You can eat the stems and leaves as well, they taste like greens. Save them to make stocks or broth.
Don't like the smell when it cooks? Add celery leaves or seeds to the water!
It’s a Super Food!
Cauliflower is a nutrient-rich vegetable. Even though there are different colors, they all have the same amount of vitamins and minerals. Steaming it retains more of the nutrients than other methods of cooking and boiling causes cauliflower to lose much of its nutritional value. Cauliflower is rich in Vitamin C, just 1 cup contains 75% of your daily recommended intake! This is more than oranges. It’s also an excellent source of vitamin K, folate, pantothenic acid, and vitamin B6 and is a very good source of choline, dietary fiber, omega-3 fatty acids, manganese, phosphorus, and biotin. Because of this, cauliflower can be part of a healthy diet to prevent or fight cancer, improve heart health, fight off infection, and even maintain brain function. So it's healthy and a brain food!
Weekly Checklist
Unpack your groceries.
If you aren’t preparing your recipe right way, be sure to store items properly.
Complete the lessons.
Review this week’s cooking video and written lesson to learn and enhance important kitchen skills and how to build a well-balance plate.
Get cooking!
Gather your recipe and ingredients. Review the videos for guidance as you prepare each recipe.
Share it!
Share the meals with your friends and family. Be sure to share photos by tagging @sdchefsdecuisine on IG or email us. Share your experiences with your cooking club.
Watch Episode Six
Let’s explore a fun way to prepare a super food!
Episode Six
Cauliflower Bites with Honey Dijon Dipping Sauce
Cauliflower Bites
1 large head of cauliflower
2 to 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, as needed
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
Ground black pepper
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup.
2. To prepare the cauliflower, carefully watch this week's video. You'll use a chef’s knife to remove the center and the greens. Then cut up and along the center to remove the florets. Cut across each piece to make ½″ wide pieces, then use your fingers to break apart any stuck-together florets. You'll want them all generally the same size.
3. Either in a large bowl or on the pan, drizzle the cauliflower with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss well until the cauliflower is lightly coated in oil, adding another drizzle of oil only if necessary.
4. Arrange the cauliflower in an even layer and bake until they are deeply golden on the edges. This will take about 25-35 minutes. Be sure to toss or flip them halfway through cooking so you get both sides golden brown.
5. Once they cooked, let them cool slightly and plate them along with your dipping sauce.
Honey Dijon Dipping Sauce
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons lemon juice or orange juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup olive oil
Directions:
Combine the mustard, honey, and lemon juice. Gradually whisk in the oil to form a creamy dressing. Then season with salt and pepper to your taste.
Use immediately or store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 1 week. Whisk well before serving.
Assignments for Episode Six
Snap some photos!
Time in the kitchen is about de-stressing, having fun, challenging yourself, and nourishing your mind, body, and soul. Our hope is that you find great pride in your efforts after each lesson. We also want you to learn and grow! Take a photo of your recipes and share them with the group. After each episode, you'll be talking with your group about what went well and where you were challenged.
Share your photos!
Upload your pictures to Instagram and tag @sdchefsdecuisine
or email them to cwc@sdchefs.org
Chef's reflections
Chefs take notes! Each experience in the kitchen will provide you with wins and some fails. Writing down what you liked and where you can improve will expand your chef skills and guide you toward your own culinary creations. Start a chef's journal, you'll continue to use it years from now.
Discussion Topic
Before you made this week's recipe, was cauliflower something you've tried in the past?
How have you eaten cauliflower before? Did you like it?
After making the Cauliflower Bites, do you have ideas for other vegetables that you could roast in a similar way?
Cauliflower can be eaten raw, roasted, steamed, boiled or grilled and how you cook it changes the flavor. Do a search for two more recipes that use cauliflower and share them with your group. Tell them why you chose the recipe and how they are cooking the cauliflower in that recipe. Is this a recipe you plan to try sometime?
What is another way you could use the recipe for Honey Dijon Sauce?
Share your Weekly “Wow!”
Here’s your chance to tell us about something that struck you in the video. Maybe it was something the chef said or an idea for how you can improve the look, or the texture or the taste of your dish. Write down your response in your handbook and feel free to share with us by emailing cwc@sdchefs.org
Episode 6 Handout & Recipes
We’ve created a printable Handbook for each episode of Cooking With Chefs which includes all the recipes!
You can find this Handbook in your ingredients package or download and print it from here.
Great Job Chef!
This concludes Episode 6 of Cooking with Chefs.