Fun with purple cauliflower

Yes, purple cauliflower.  Have you had it?  Have you seen it?  Look how pretty it is!  How could you not want to eat it up??

Not to mention look how big it is.  And locally grown, in fact :)  If you like regular cauliflower, you will like purple cauliflower.  You can use it in all the same ways as the boring ol' white, it is just slightly more delicate (i.e. shave a minute or two off the cooking time).  Here I ate it three different ways (over three different days, of course).

Method 1:   mashed purple cauliflower = delicious faux mashed potatoes. Served aside roasted brussels sprouts and sauteed turnip greens.   Needless to say, I didn't finish that humongous portion of mashed cauliflower on the plate below (what were my eyes thinking?!?).

Just steam (or roast) cauliflower florets until tender and add to a food processor (such as my new Ninja! yeah! I make everything in it these days) along with a clove or two of garlic, splash of vegetable broth (or water or almond/other non-dairy milk), pinch of coarse salt, fresh ground pepper, and any other seasonings.  Rosemary is a good option.  Oh yeah...I added some tofu to the food processor to give it extra oomph and it helped make it extra filling and denser, closer to actual mashed potato consistency.

The brussels sprouts were just tossed in vegetable broth and minced garlic then roasted in a 400 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until they got slightly charred on the outsides.  The greens were thoroughly washed, chopped, and sauteed with vegetable broth and garlic.  Look at this before-picture to see how much they shrunk down during cooking:

Method 2:  Toss purple cauliflower florets in a vegetable soup.  Especially if you have some homemade vegetable broth that is just begging to be used!  It adds a fun color to an otherwise dreary looking (but delicious tasting) soup. Toss them in close to the end so they maintain their texture.  If you overcook them they will disintegrate easily into the hot soup broth.

Method 3:  Roasted purple cauliflower with garlic and herbs.  This was my favorite way to make it.  Toss lightly in vegetable broth or olive oil along with your other favorite veggies-mine happen to be broccoli and brussels sprouts-and roast at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or so.

Before going in the oven

Check them for done-ness (not too mushy and starting to get slightly brown) and turn the oven on broil if they are cooked well enough but still need an extra boost to get that roasted effect.

 After roasting

Sprinkle with coarse salt and fresh ground pepper and you have yourself a satisfying plant-strong dinner, my friend!