A lot has been said and written about the benefits of cauliflower. And yet, not everyone likes the taste of this vegetable. This is due to the fact that many do not know how to cook it properly, in particular, how much to cook cauliflower before frying or stewing. But, having done everything according to the rules, you can be sure that the dish will turn out to be very tasty.

Should I boil cabbage before frying?

Most often, cauliflower is fried. However, few adhere to the recipe and boil the vegetable before cooking. Meanwhile, only after the cabbage inflorescences are heat treated in boiling water, they become soft and juicy. And the frying time is reduced to 4-5 minutes. Many housewives do not boil the vegetable because they want to reduce the cooking time, but all because they do not know how long to boil the cauliflower before frying.

To make a tender and airy dish from cauliflower, it should be properly prepared, that is, boiled. The best way to do this is to use an enamel pan and a minimum of additives.

Ingredients:

• head of cauliflower;
• salt;
• water.

Cooking:

1. Thoroughly wash the head of cabbage, tearing off the green leaves.
2. We cut off a thick leg and disassemble the head of cabbage into inflorescences.
3. We wash the inflorescences again.
4. We spread the blanks in the enameled pan with the stems down.
5. Fill with water so that the cabbage is completely covered, put on medium heat.
6. After boiling, salt and reduce the heat.
7. Cook for another 10 minutes (if we boil a whole head of cabbage, increase the time to 20-25 minutes).

Thus, having made the calculations, it is easy to answer the question of how many minutes to cook cauliflower before frying. In a saucepan, the cooking time is 10 minutes after boiling, in a slow cooker - 20 minutes. In the latter case, you do not need to add water. It is enough to select the "Steam processing" mode.

In the process of boiling the cabbage leaves the smell and partially bitterness. Especially if, after boiling, add a piece of white bread or a bun. But if you plan to fry cabbage in breadcrumbs, then a slight bitterness will add spice to the dish. By the way, it turns out no less tasty if the cabbage inflorescences are fried in flour batter with an egg.

Read also:

Delicious sautéed cauliflower is a great side dish or a quick meal on its own. But do not neglect the recommendations for preparing vegetables for frying.

• When choosing a head of cauliflower, carefully inspect it for dark spots - this is a sign of corruption of the vegetable.
• A bunch of fresh cabbage inflorescences must be chosen with green whole leaves - this is an indicator of freshness.
• If frozen cauliflower is used for cooking, it is not necessary to defrost it before cooking. Vegetable inflorescences are lowered into cold water and boiled in the same way as fresh ones, only 5-7 minutes can be added to the boiling time.
• Before frying the inflorescences, they need to be boiled and slightly salted.
• If you like the original aftertaste, then during the cooking process you can pepper the cabbage or add any other spices at your discretion. Boiling time will not allow the product to be strongly saturated with extraneous tastes and smells, but some new flavor notes will still appear.
• Some fans of cauliflower are advised to boil the vegetable in milk with a minimum percentage of fat content. But in this case, the cabbage should not boil longer than 5 minutes, as the milk softens it further.
• To check the readiness of the cabbage, the stem must be pierced with a knife. However, it is worth considering that frying will add additional cooking time, so it is better to boil the vegetable until half cooked. Then, after frying, the inflorescences will retain elasticity and will not fall apart.

The inflorescences of a product that is gaining popularity are not only distinguished by their delicate taste and benefits, they are also better absorbed by the body than many other vegetables. If you know how much to cook cauliflower and how to do it correctly, you can count on getting a dish that is unique in many ways. The processing time of the component is minimal - from 10-12 to 20-25 minutes, depending on the selected device. This time is enough to bring the ingredient to readiness, but save the useful components in it to the maximum extent.

How to prepare cauliflower for cooking?

When working with cauliflower, certain rules must be observed. Particular attention is paid to the preparatory stage. If you do everything right, the chances of getting the desired result will be greater.

• The shelf life of the vegetable is small, so it should be used in the very first hours after purchase. If this is not possible, fresh cabbage should be frozen; this will not affect its benefits and taste characteristics.
• You should not buy heads of cabbage with dark spots on the inflorescences. They indicate prolonged or improper storage. Even if such areas are cut out, the product will retain a slightly bitter taste.
• Cut the leaves from the head of cabbage and remove the dense stalk. We cut out all problem areas with a knife. Withered inflorescences must be processed with a grater to remove all unnecessary and tasteless.

Tip: A recipe in which cauliflower is fried or stewed with an egg is very popular. But they do not need to be abused, in the process of such processing, even in such a healthy vegetable, important substances are destroyed in a few minutes. If you really like the combination of these components, it is better to boil them separately, finely chop and mix already in a bowl.

• Dilute two tablespoons in a liter of cold water. We lower the workpiece into the resulting solution and leave it for 15-20 minutes. This manipulation will help get rid of larvae, slugs and caterpillars, which often hide between inflorescences.

After the treatment, the cabbage is thoroughly washed under cold water. If necessary, we disassemble the vegetable into inflorescences and use it for its intended purpose.

Cooking cauliflower in a saucepan, steamed, in a slow cooker

For boiling cauliflower, you can adapt any kitchen device. Most often, housewives use such methods and approaches to quickly and tasty prepare a component:

• In a saucepan. Pour water into the container, slightly add some salt and wait for the liquid to boil. We lay the cabbage, disassembled into inflorescences. After the composition boils again, reduce the heat to a minimum. Cooking lasts 10-12 minutes. The degree of readiness is determined by sampling. If the workpiece is planned to be fried in the future, then a 7-minute boil is enough.

• For a couple. Properly processed and disassembled into inflorescences, the product is laid out in a double boiler bowl or a colander fixed over a pot of boiling water. Cook it for 20-25 minutes until it has the desired texture.

• In a multicooker. Here, a vegetable can be cooked in two ways - as in a saucepan or steamed. In the first case, the duration of treatment will be 7-12 minutes, in the second - 15-20 minutes.

The finished product is not recommended for a long time to keep in a hot broth. Inflorescences may turn yellow from this, which will not look very appetizing. But if the liquid is already cold, the product will lie in it for several hours, retaining its original characteristics.

Options for boiling cauliflower in the microwave

Before cooking cauliflower in a microwave oven, it must be divided into inflorescences. This technique is not suitable for processing whole heads of cabbage, the effect will not be uniform. To boil a vegetable, the following approaches are used:

• Put the inflorescences in a deep bowl, fill a third with water and lightly add. We close the container with a lid and boil for 5-7 minutes, using maximum power for this. To make it very tasty, the workpiece after this should be a little insisted under the lid.
• If the head of cabbage needs to be kept as whole as possible, we divide it into four parts and put it in a saucepan. Pour the vegetable with water and simmer for 15-18 minutes at maximum power. The degree of readiness is determined with a fork.
• Cauliflower can be boiled not only in water, but also in milk. The main thing is not to do it for too long, otherwise the workpiece will turn into porridge. For 0.5 kg of inflorescences, we take 3 tablespoons of milk and a pinch of salt. Cooking is carried out in a bowl under the lid for 3 minutes at maximum power and another 10 minutes at medium power.

If you need to hold the cabbage for some time before serving, drain the excess liquid from the container, and put the component back in the microwave. But in this case, you should not wait more than 30-40 minutes.

To always get a tasty and healthy product, it is not enough to act correctly, you should also know a few secrets:

• Frozen cabbage does not need to be thawed first. Just dip it in salted water after boiling and cook for 12-15 minutes. Then we throw it in a colander and use it for its intended purpose.
• Stumps from inflorescences should not be thrown away, they have a lot of useful components. They can also be boiled, chopped and used as an additional ingredient in sauces and soups.
• Dense inflorescences are best used on salads and garnish. Loose elements make excellent soups.

During the processing of cauliflower, it should be kept away from direct sunlight. Otherwise, it will soften and darken right before your eyes.

Previously, only cooks of wealthy people knew how to cook cauliflower deliciously. The dense creamy buds were a real delicacy, the taste of which the common people could only dream of. Now cauliflower is sold along with white cabbage everywhere, it has a low cost and is very popular. All this is explained by the useful composition of the vegetable and the taste that will delight adults and little gourmets. You can cook a huge number of dishes from cauliflower - from salads to side dishes that will surprise and delight all household members.

Cauliflower in batter is prepared quickly and simply from a minimum set of products. At the same time, this process is not at all laborious, as it seems at first glance to some housewives. It will not take longer than 30 minutes, and in return you will get a low-calorie, nutritious meal. To prepare the dish, you should take cauliflower, vegetable fat for frying, 2 eggs and flour (for batter), a little salt and water.

How to cook the dish step by step:

1. Cauliflower is cleaned of green leaves and damaged areas. After it, you need to rinse it under running water and carefully, with a knife, separate the inflorescences from each other.
2. In a container of a suitable volume, you need to boil clean, salted water and lower the cabbage there. Cook for 5-12 minutes (vegetable should be easily pierced with a fork, but not fall apart). After readiness, you need to put the inflorescences in a colander and wait until the liquid has completely drained. The water in which the cabbage was boiled can not be thrown away - it will come in handy for preparing various vegetable soups or sauces.
3. Separately, in a bowl, beat the whites with yolks, add a little flour and salt, mix thoroughly. The consistency of the mass should resemble thin sour cream.
4. Heat a small amount of fat in a frying pan. Each inflorescence is dipped in batter and fried in a pan on both sides. Spread the finished vegetable on a paper towel or parchment to remove excess oil.

Cauliflower fried in egg batter is served warm with porridge or salad. You can eat it as an independent dish with your favorite sauce - it is good for health and figure (the calorie content of the dish along with the sauce will be about 90 kcal).

Multicooker cooking option

Cauliflower in a slow cooker is a dietary option. In a miracle device, a vegetable in batter will cook quickly, efficiently and without much effort.

According to this recipe, the dish is prepared from:

• cauliflower - 0.5 kg;
• eggs - a couple of pieces;
• flour - 30 g;
• milk - 0.5 cups for a slow cooker;
• salt, pepper;
• greenery.

This quantity will make 3 servings. First, the vegetable is washed and cleaned of unnecessary parts, then divided into inflorescences.

To make the dish juicy and tasty, the vegetable must be chosen tight, elastic, without a dark coating.

The divided parts of the cabbage should be lightly salted.

For batter, flour is beaten in a container with eggs and milk. Salt, pepper, chopped herbs are added to taste. The mixture should be moderately thick.

In a greased multicooker bowl with vegetable oil, put the inflorescences in batter, and set the "baking" mode. Cooking time is 25-35 minutes. The taste of the vegetable will turn out juicy and tender inside, with a delicious crispy crust on the outside.

Pan fried with eggs

Fried cauliflower with egg and other products is an excellent snack for fresh vegetable juices or beer. It is healthy, tasty, fragrant and light. Eating such a dish is a pleasure, because it perfectly satisfies the appetite, while not overloading the digestive tract.

There are several options for a dish in a pan with the addition of an egg. The most interesting of them is a recipe in which hard cheese is added to the main products. When melted, it covers all the components with a beautiful golden crust, gives an interesting taste to the dish.

To prepare the dish according to this recipe, you should stock up:

• cabbage - 400 g;
• Bulgarian pepper;
• eggs - a couple of pieces;
• cheese - 100 g;
• spices.

First, after preparation, the vegetable is boiled in water or steamed until soft. After that, sunflower or olive oil should be poured into the pan, fry the pepper cut into strips. You need to fry it a little, then add the cabbage inflorescences and cook with pepper over high heat.

Separately, in a container, beat the whites with yolks, add spices to them, salt. After that, even grated cheese is sent, everything is mixed and then added to the vegetables when they are fried. After adding the eggs to the cabbage, you can reduce the heat, cover the container with a lid and simmer until cooked or turn on the fire harder, stirring everything vigorously with a spatula. In the first case, you get a dish that looks like a vegetable omelette, in the second - crispy cabbage inflorescences with cheese. And so, and so it will be very tasty.

Cauliflower in a pan can be cooked with sour cream, cream, onions, tomatoes and other vegetables. A light breakfast or a hearty lunch is quite possible with a tender vegetable, which is low in cost and mega useful in composition.

diet soup recipe

Cauliflower soup can be called dietary because it contains practically no fat. It is low-calorie, useful for everyone who adheres to a healthy lifestyle, monitors weight. It is allowed to include the product in the diet for those who have problems in the functioning of the digestive organs - there is no coarse fiber in cauliflower, as in white cabbage, which means that it cannot harm health.

To prepare food, you should take:

• cabbage - 150-200 g;
• potato tubers - 3 pcs.;
• olive oil;
• herbs, spices.

Good tight cabbage is cleaned of green leaves (they are bitter), washed and divided into inflorescences of any size. Potatoes are peeled, cut into cubes.

Vegetables should be poured with water so that it is 10-20 mm higher, salt. You need to boil cabbage with potatoes for 15-25 minutes (until the products are ready), then grind everything with a submersible blender. Add greens, arrange on plates. Serve to the table, garnished with mint leaves.

If the soup is too thick, you can dilute it with broth or boiled milk.

Cauliflower and tomato salad

Such a salad in a hurry will be an excellent alternative to traditional vegetable cuts.

It is prepared in minutes, from:

• sour cream - 300 g;
• garlic - a couple of cloves;
• tomato - 350 g;
• cauliflower - 1200 g;
• salt, spices.

The calorie content of such a dish is less than 55 kcal (if sour cream is fatty, then the nutritional value will be slightly higher). Cooking time - 25 minutes.

The white vegetable is washed, divided into inflorescences and boiled in lightly salted water. If it is easily pierced with a fork, you can turn off the fire.

While the cabbage is cooling, you need to chop the tomatoes into cubes, mix them with boiled inflorescences and chopped garlic. Season it all with sour cream or kefir, salt, add herbs and spices to taste. You can put vegetables on fresh lettuce leaves, sprinkle with sesame seeds on top. Serve with porridge or boiled potatoes.

in Korean

Korean-style homemade cauliflower tastes much better than store-bought, besides, all the ingredients in it are natural, without the presence of harmful substances. Cooking time is approximately 7 hours. The output will be about 8 servings of a moderately spicy vegetable snack.

To prepare food, you should stock up:

• cauliflower - 800 g;
• carrots - a couple of small root crops;
• garlic - 6 cloves;
• water - 1 l;
• vinegar - 220 ml;
• salt - 2.5 tbsp. without a slide;
• sugar - 200 g;
• vegetable oil - ¼ st.;
• sweet paprika, coriander, ground peppers, lavrushka - to taste.

To prepare the brine, you need to boil the liquid, add the right amount of salt, granulated sugar, vinegar and vegetable fat to it. Boil water with the rest of the ingredients for at least 6 minutes, after which the cabbage should be poured with hot marinade and set aside to cool.

Separately, carrots are peeled and rubbed on a special grater. Garlic is peeled and cut into large plates. All this, together with spices, is added to the cabbage and set aside for 7 hours in a cool place for pickling. After that, you can eat a wonderful vegetable snack with the whole family, enjoying the delicate and spicy taste of the dish.

Winter variation - pickled cauliflower

A distinctive feature of cauliflower is that it goes well with a variety of spices. They, even in large quantities, not only do not spoil its taste, but also give a special piquancy and aroma.

To prepare a vegetable for the winter, you should take:

• cauliflower - 1 fork;
• sweet pepper - 1 large vegetable;
• black and allspice peas - 5 pcs.;
• bay leaf - a couple of pieces;
• hot pepper - 1 pc.;
• granulated sugar - a tablespoon;
• rock salt - a couple of teaspoons;
• vinegar - 3 tbsp. l.;
• garlic - 4 cloves;
• dried dill greens - 1 tbsp. with a hill.

First, you should wash and sterilize the jars for harvesting vegetables. After washing and peeling the cabbage, pepper, garlic. In each container, put garlic, cut into small cubes, parsley, dry dill, hot pepper. Next, cabbage with bell pepper is laid (you can chop vegetables if desired, shifting them after layers).

When the containers are full, you need to pour the vegetables into them with boiling water, leave for 12 minutes, covered with lids. Then the water from the cans must be drained into a saucepan, boiled and poured into the cans again. After 12 minutes, the liquid is drained into a saucepan, boiled, after which granulated sugar and salt are added to it. When the bulk components dissolve in the marinade, they need to pour vegetables in jars, add vinegar to each container and roll up. Cans of vegetables should be under the blanket for several days - this will allow you to tighten the lids well and prevent them from exploding.

Pickled cabbage will be ready to eat 8 weeks after cooking. You can store it for a long time in a cool dark place.

In tomato sauce for the winter

It is almost impossible to keep cauliflower fresh for more than 2 weeks. That is why lovers of this vegetable harvest it for future use by canning. One of the popular recipes for preparing a product is its preparation in tomato sauce.

For 1 kg of vegetable you should take:

• tomato - 500 g;
• sweet pepper - 150 g;
• garlic - 4 cloves;
• granulated sugar - ¼ cup;
• salt - a tablespoon;
• vegetable fat - 75 ml;
• vinegar - 55 ml.

Wash and sterilize jars with lids. Cut the tomatoes and grind through a meat grinder. If you are not a fan of tomato seeds in brine, it is better to pass the tomatoes through a juicer.

Bulgarian pepper should be peeled, washed and cut into strips. After you need to put it in a container with juice, add the right amount of salt, sugar and oil. Mix, put on fire and boil.

Separately, it is necessary to wash the cauliflower, divide it into small inflorescences and pour into boiling tomato juice. Boil vegetables for at least 25 minutes under a lid (cover slightly) over low heat.

To prepare an incredibly delicious dish, you should stock up:

• cauliflower - 900 g;
• butter - 50 g;
• onions - 250 g;
• flour - 50 g;
• milk - 150 ml;
• cheese - 140 g;
• black pepper, bay leaf;
• salt.

Cabbage is disassembled into inflorescences, boiled and cooled. The onion is chopped and fried in oil until golden brown. At the end of frying, flour is introduced to it, after milk and spices.

Cabbage, previously blanched in salted water, is laid out in a deep baking dish, greased, poured with sauce. Cheese is poured on top and everything is baked in an oven heated to 190 degrees for 25 minutes.

Cooking frozen

From frozen cauliflower, you can cook a wide variety of dishes - from soups to nutritious casseroles. For breakfast, it is good to cook frozen cauliflower in the form of a casserole using a slow cooker for this purpose.

This simple recipe uses the following ingredients:

• frozen vegetable - 350 g;
• skim milk - 250 g;
• hard cheese - 130 g;
• a slice of ham - 140 g;
• dill greens;
• vegetable fat;
• eggs - 4 pcs.;
• salt and spices.

The ham is cut into small pieces, the greens are chopped. Frozen cabbage is washed, eggs are beaten with milk, cheese, spices.

In a multicooker bowl, greased, put meat, cabbage, greens. Pour all this sauce and cook in the “baking” mode for 30 minutes. Serve hot.

Immediately before cooking, the cauliflower should be washed under cold water and divided into small inflorescences.

The process of cooking cauliflower:

First you need to know what dishes you need to cook cauliflower for.

If for soups, then you need to cook cauliflower in cold water. We take a saucepan, put the washed cauliflower inflorescences into it, fill it with cold water and put it on fire. This is necessary so that more of the aroma and taste of cabbage remains in the water, the broth can be used as a broth for a delicious soup. We also add spices according to your taste and preference.

If we cook cauliflower as a separate dish, then we put it immediately in boiling water, so it retains more of its juices.

How long should cauliflower be boiled?

Boil fresh cauliflower for 10-15 minutes. Time will begin to count from the moment of boiling water. Immediately after boiling, salt (about 2 teaspoons of salt per 1 liter of water). Boil the cauliflower covered. To make sure that the cauliflower is cooked, you can stick a fork or knife into it. If it comes in softly, the cauliflower is cooked.

After cooking:

If you cooked cabbage for salads or other dishes, then you need to strain it through a colander. If for soup, then you still need cabbage broth.

• vitamins of different groups - beta-carotene, PP, B9, B6, B5, B2, B1, C, E, H, K, choline;
• macronutrients - phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, calcium, potassium;
• trace elements - selenium, copper, manganese, iron, zinc, fluorine.

Cauliflower is used in children's, medical and dietary nutrition. The use of this product improves the functioning of the cardiovascular system and the gastrointestinal tract. Helps keep the skin of the face and body healthy and elastic.

Scientists have proven that the introduction of cauliflower into the diet reduces the risk of colon and duodenal cancer. Also, this product has anti-inflammatory properties, which helps the immune system.

How to cook frozen cauliflower?

Before cooking, cauliflower must be thawed, preferably at room temperature, then rinse the product under cold water. You can also speed up the thawing process by placing the frozen vegetable in boiling water and boiling for 1 minute. Then you need to drain the water.

We cook on the stove. Pour water into a saucepan and put it on fire. Bring the liquid to a boil and reduce the flame. We add water and add cauliflower, which is previously divided into inflorescences. You need to cook the vegetable for 15-16 minutes. If the product will lend itself to further heat treatment, such as frying, it is enough to boil for 7 minutes.

We cook in a multicooker. We put the cauliflower, divided into inflorescences, into the multicooker bowl and fill it with water so that the liquid completely covers the product. Select the "Cooking", "Express" paragram and set the cooking time to 15 minutes. At the end of the process, drain the water and salt the still hot cauliflower to taste.

We cook in a steamer. Place the cauliflower in a single layer on a grate greased with sunflower oil. With this method of cooking, it is not necessary to defrost the product. Set the timer for 30 minutes. After the time has passed, put the cabbage in a bowl and add it.