Either use pre-riced cauliflower (you may find it in the frozen food aisle) or rice your own cauliflower in a food processor. Sauté some onions, garlic, and ginger, and then add the cauliflower rice to the pan with your favourite selection of frozen veggies; we used sweetcorn, peas, mushrooms, and peppers. Mix a sauce of 2 tbsp hoisin, 2 tbsp soy, and 2 tbsp water. Stir through, and enjoy!
Creamy and chunky, creating wonderful textural contrasts, and with subtle undertones of lemon balanced out by the herbs and pepper, this soup is a real winner and would be perfect for entertaining. This recipe serves 4-6 depending on whether it’s being eaten as a starter or a main.
Ingredients:
2 white onions, finely chopped
650g white mushrooms, quartered
1.5 litres vegetable broth
1 large potato, peeled and in bite-size dice
1 tsp dried thyme*
1 tsp dried basil*
1 head cauliflower, in small florets
1 lemon, rind and zest
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Red chilli flakes and parsley (optional)
*Crumbling dried herbs between your fingers before adding them to a dish will help to release more of their aromatic oils.
Directions:
1. Preheat a large soup pot over a medium low heat. Add the onion and mushroom, and sauté until the mushrooms release their liquid.
2. Add the vegetable broth, potato, and herbs. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Stir in the cauliflower, cover the soup once again, and simmer for 7 minutes more.
4. Stir through the lemon zest and juice.
5. Transfer half of the soup to a blender and blend until smooth (optional). Return to the pot to reheat, and season to taste.
6. Serve garnished with red chilli flakes and parsley, and a little extra lemon zest, if desired.
The flavour profile of this dish is inspired by Indonesian cuisine, where molasses or brown sugar are frequently used in ketjap manis. Molasses is quite high in iron and other minerals, which makes it a much healthier choice than many other sweeteners.
Ingredients
1 cup coconut milk
1 tsp red chilli paste
1 tbsp garlic-ginger paste
1 tbsp molasses
1 tsp turmeric
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp lime pickle
2 cups cauliflower, in small florets (mine were pre-roasted, but the recipe below is a quicker version)
1 head pak choy, chopped
1 can chickpeas
4 spring onions, chopped
Directions
Delicious piled high on a wrap with all of your favourite vegetables, these cauliflower bites are intensely flavoursome. This uses a whole cauliflower, and serves 4. The recipe for the minty coconut yogurt dip is below.
Ingredients:
1 cauliflower, chopped into bite-sized florets
For the batter:
1 cup flour (I used wholemeal spelt)
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp onion salt
Pinch allspice
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup soy (or other all-plant) milk
For the glaze:
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp lime pickle
1 tbsp mango chutney
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp sriracha
1 tbsp maple syrup
For the Minty Coconut Yogurt:
250g all-plant coconut yogurt
1 bunch mint, finely chopped
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
Salt to taste
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 220C and line a baking tray with a silicone sheet.
2. Mix all of the batter ingredients together. Toss the cauliflower in the batter, spread on the baking tray, and bake 20 minutes, flipping once.
3. Meanwhile, make the glaze by mixing all ingredients together.
4. When the cauliflower has baked for 20 minutes, toss in the glaze. Return to the baking tray and bake for 5 minutes more.
5. Combine all of the minty coconut yogurt ingredients well.
5. Serving suggestion: suitable-for-vegans wholegrain tortilla wrap, Moroccan-Spiced Hummus, lightly sautéed mushrooms, bell peppers, and mangetout, steamed kale.
This soup couldn’t possibly be any silkier. The beautiful texture is down to the quantity of coconut milk in the recipe, and the flavours are lively and bright. This serves six.
Ingredients
1 onion, roughly diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into chunks
1 cauliflower, in florets
2 x 400ml cans coconut milk
2 cups vegetable broth
1 tbsp Thai red curry paste
2 tbsp soy sauce
Directions
1. In a large soup pot over a medium-low heat, sauté the onion until aromatic and starting to turn golden. Add the garlic cloves, and stir for 30 seconds.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients to the pot, bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for 20 minutes.
3. Blend.
3. Season, taste, and serve.
This is an easy budget soup, making four main-meal-sized portions. Don’t let the inclusion of the notoriously difficult to peel squash put you off; there are two options below to make your job much, much easier. As always, use this recipe as a roadmap: try it with the addition of coconut milk and either Thai or Indian spices; add a can of tomato sauce and some Italian herbs. A good base soup can be varied in so many different ways.
Ingredients:
1 red onion, medium dice
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 butternut squash
200g split red lentils
1 small cauliflower, in florets (approx. 500g)
1.5 litres vegetable stock
Pinch chilli flakes
1 tbsp fresh sage leaves, minced (or 1 tsp, dried, rubbed between fingers)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 heaped tbsp yellow miso
Directions:
1. Carefully make several slits in skin of the squash with a small sharp knife, and microwave for about 3-5 minutes to loosen the peel from the flesh slightly. Alternatively, slit and then boil the squash whole in a large stock pot for about 5 minutes, until softened. Wait until it’s cool enough to handle, and then peel, deseed, and chop into bite-sized dice.
2. In a stock pot over a very low heat, sweat the onion and garlic, stirring frequently until softened, about 5 minutes. Don’t allow them to take on any colour; if they start to stick, the heat is too high. Lower it, and add a little broth to loosen.
3. Add the cauliflower, stock, butternut squash, chilli flakes, and sage leaves. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 15-20 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
4. While the soup is cooking, rinse and drain the lentils, picking them over to ensure there are no small stones or pieces of grit among them. Add them to a saucepan with about 400g water, bring to the boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 5-10 minutes, or until softened. Drain and rinse.
5. Add the lentils back to the pot with the butternut squash (cooking them separately ensures that the lentils don’t add any foam to your soup), and mix well to combine. Spoon between a third and half of the soup into a blender jug with the miso paste and blend until creamy. Alternatively, remove the same quantity of soup and use an immersion blender to blend it to smooth.
6. Stir the blended soup back to the pot, warm, and serve in warmed bowls with some parsley, additional chilli flakes, and nutritional yeast if desired.
This bowl is earthy and moderately sweet. If you don’t like the earthiness of beets, some lime juice will help cut through it a little. You can also add a touch of vegan liquid sweetener to enhance those sweet notes.
Ingredients
For juicing
1 slice pineapple
1/2 large red beet
1 apple
For blending
100g frozen strawberries
100g frozen cauliflower
For decorating
Desiccated coconut
Flaked almonds
Oats
Optional
1/2 lime
Maple syrup or other suitable-for-vegans liquid sweetener
Directions
1. Juice the pineapple, beet, and apple
2. Blend the juice with the frozen strawberries and cauliflower.
3. Taste. If you find the bowl too earthy, squeeze the lime into the blender over your closed hand (palm facing up; this way, you catch the seeds). If you’re adding the lime juice, blend briefly.
4. Transfer to a bowl, decorate, add some maple syrup (or other suitable-for-vegans sweetener), and enjoy.
5. As with all smoothie bowls, they will melt rather quickly. A good tip to slow the melting process is to leave your bowl in the refrigerator overnight and use this for plating your smoothie bowl the next day.
This inexpensive, oil-free and relatively simple pasta sauce is made of blended cauliflower and beans, and when served with a pasta of your choice, it’s filling but not heavy. It serves 4 people with 125g egg-free dried pasta per person, and vegetables of choice.
Ingredients
400g frozen cauliflower, steamed for 8 minutes or until warmed through and tender
1/2 cup white beans of choice
2 tsp mixed Italian herbs (parsley, rosemary, oregano, basil, thyme)
2 garlic cloves
3 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
2/3 cup unsalted all-plant milk
1/3 cup cold vegetable broth
1 tbsp yellow miso paste
1 tsp suitable-for-vegans Dijon mustard
2 tsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp onion granules
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Fresh parsley to taste, minced
Directions
A healthier and budget version of a takeaway favourite: baked breaded and battered cauliflower in a spicy orange sauce. Ready in about 40 minutes, and a perfect accompaniment to rice and plenty of sautéed mushrooms and greens. Serves 4.
Ingredients
1 medium head cauliflower, in florets
For the coating
35g breadcrumbs
75g flour
1 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
150ml (approx.) unsweetened plant milk
For the sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch piece of ginger, grated
1 red chilli, sliced
1 scallion, sliced
Juice and rind 2 oranges
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp maple syrup
2 tsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp cornflour
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 220C. Line a baking tray with a silicone mat or baking parchment.
2. Mix the breadcrumbs, flour, and five-spice powder for the batter. Add the plant milk gradually until the batter is firm.
3. Dip the cauliflower florets in the batter to coat. Lay on the baking tray and bake for 30 minutes, turning once.
4. Mix all sauce ingredients in a saucepan. Simmer gently until thickened.
A make-at-home meal that will rival the takeaway version and that’s ready in about 40 minutes. The battered cauliflower is baked rather than deep-fried, but we wouldn’t class this as healthfood nonetheless. Serves 4.
Ingredients
1 head cauliflower, in florets
For the Batter
120g wholemeal flour
65g cornflour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
2 tbsp tamari
1 tbsp rice vinegar
100-140 ice cold water, or enough to make a thick batter
For the Sauce
3 lemons, zested and juiced
1 tbsp soy sauce
100 ml water
80g rice, date or fruit syrup, or to taste
1 tsp Chinese five spice
1 tbsp cornflour
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 220C. Line a baking tray with a silicone mat or baking parchment. Mix the dry ingredients for the batter. Add the tamari, rice vinegar, and enough liquid to make a thick batter.
3. Prepare the sauce by placing the lemon juice and zest, sugar, water, spice, and cornflour into a small saucepan. Bring gently to the boil, stirring to dissolve the syrup. Allow to simmer and thicken.
4. Coat the cauliflower in batter, shaking the excess back into the bowl. Bake for 30 minutes, flipping once.
5. Serve over rice, and top with the lemon sauce.
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