An ode to the humble Cauliflower

Extract from “Living Low-Carb” by Fran McCullough

The best potato imposter is cauliflower. If you've only had waterlogged, nasty-tasting cauliflower, you need to give this lovely vegetable another chance in your kitchen. For starters, ½ C of cauliflower only has 1.3 grams of carbohydrates. And cauliflower is also high on the list of cancer-fighting vegetables.
There are only a couple of rules for working with cauliflower. One is to buy the freshest, preferably straight from the farmers market. Look for the whitest, tightest-curled heads, with no dents or brown spots. Old cauliflower will not be tender and sweet. One medium head will produce about 6 cups of florets.
Don't overcook it, and don't let it get waterlogged. The best way to cook it is to steam it, either in cut-up florets or the whole head.
But perhaps the most delicious way of all to serve cauliflower is to grate it, then sauté it in butter, which preserves all its sweetness and yet renders it almost unidentifiable as cauliflower. Cooked this way, cauliflower takes on yet another valuable role: rice impostor. Grated cauliflower won't need more than about 5 minutes in the skillet, and it takes to many seasonings, almost as many as rice itself. You can hand grate it, but it is much easier to grate in the food processor.
You can do almost anything to cauliflower! Here are some other ideas:
• Serve it raw, to dip in everything from guacamole to old-fashioned onion soup mix dip. To keep it white, soak it first for about 5 minutes in cold water with a little lemon juice added.
• Steam the florets until just tender but still a little firm (5 to 8 minutes) and then fry them in butter – brown butter is especially good with cauliflower, and you could toss in a few capers while you're at it.
• Sauté steamed florets with sliced almonds browned in butter.
• Steam a whole head of cauliflower (this will take around 15 minutes), then put it in a baking dish and generously sprinkle grated parmesan on top. Drizzle melted butter over the whole head and sprinkle with paprika. Broil until the cheese is melted.
• Mashed cauliflower with a little cream makes a perfectly respectable mashed potatoes kind of dish. Serve it right away though, or the water will separate out.
• Dice steamed cauliflower and turn it into ‘potato' salad, using your favourite dressing and plenty of fresh herbs. This needs to be put together at the last minute or the dish will become watery.
• For the ‘rice' version, play around with seasonings. Cumin and chili powder are delicious, as is garam masala. Try stirring in a spoonful of prepared tapenade or chopped olives. Saffron adds a lovely colour and a delicate flavor, while tarragon or parsley or cilantro takes it in different directions.

Cauliflower is a 'free' vegetable!