Cauliflower, modern medicine ranks as a group of the most wholesome vegetables. It has significantly more vitamins and minerals than other varieties of cabbage, therefore, it is primarily recommended for children and dietary cuisine.
Nutritious and tasty cauliflower in ancient times was highly valued by many peoples of the East. Here, this cabbage was called Syrian for a long time, since its seeds were supplied from Syria. It was from Syria that the seeds of cauliflower were brought to the island of Cyprus, from there, in the 14th century, they came to Italy and France, and a century later to England and Holland. In Russia, cauliflower was first grown under Catherine II. The first attempts were unsuccessful - the heat-loving species of cabbage did not withstand the harsh Russian climate, but, in the end, domestic agronomists developed a variety resistant to low temperatures. Since then, cauliflower has always been present on our tables in a variety of ways: as a side dish, as a base for soups, as a filling for open pies, raw in salads and so on.
Far from being an idle question that arises for many housewives: "How much to cook cauliflower?" Indeed, during prolonged cooking, most of the vitamins and nutrients are destroyed, and there are a lot of them in cauliflower. For example, compared with white cabbage, it contains three times more vitamin C, in addition there is provitamin A, B vitamins, vitamin PP. Also in large quantities there is phosphorus, iron, magnesium, calcium and potassium. Cauliflower is rich in vegetable protein, but fiber in it is much less than in other types of cabbage, so it is easier to digest and does not overload the intestines.
Decide how much to cook cauliflower depending on its size and the nature of the dish for which this cabbage is being prepared. If the cabbage is divided into small inflorescences, then cook it until tender should be 10-15 minutes, if the cabbage is cooked whole, then it will take about half an hour to cook it. For cutlets, casseroles or breadcrumbs in breadcrumbs, it is enough to boil the cabbage with a whole head of cabbage for 15-20 minutes until half-cooked so that it does not lose useful substances during further cooking. If in a soup with cauliflower there are ingredients that boil longer than it, for example, potatoes, fresh green peas, beans, rice, then first put these products, and after a while they add cabbage inflorescences.
It is advisable to cook cauliflower in an enameled bowl to avoid the destruction of vitamins. If you add a teaspoon of any acid (vinegar, lemon juice) or a glass of milk to the water where the cabbage is boiled, then the cabbage will turn out to be snow-white and will not lose its shape. Water for cooking cauliflower needs to be taken a little, and even better - steam it. By the way, does it help to find out how much to cook cauliflower in this case? If cauliflower is steamed, and this method, of course, is optimal in diet and baby food, then its cooking time is increased by 10 minutes compared to conventional cooking.
Frozen cauliflower is boiled for 15-20 minutes.
Original recipe:
Pie "Color Tale".
For the test you will need: 2 eggs: a glass of flour; 125 gr. butter; 2 tablespoons of sour cream; a pinch of salt.
For the filling you will need: red, yellow and green peppers - 1 each; cauliflower about 500 gr.; 3 eggs; a glass of cream; ½ cup of milk; 150 gr. hard cheese; a mixture of dried herbs.
Combining sour cream, butter, eggs, flour and salt, knead a soft, elastic dough. Wrap it in cling film and place in the refrigerator for half an hour.
Boil cauliflower, cool, disassemble for inflorescences. In order not to think every time about how much to cook cauliflower for a pie, you can just try with a knife the thickest part of its stem. If the stem is already semi-soft, you do not need to cook more cabbage.
Rinse the pepper, peel the seeds and cut into strips.
Beat cream, eggs and milk with a mixer, salt, add herbs.
Roll the chilled dough into a thin layer, form along the edges of the sides. Put on the base of the test inflorescences of cabbage, strips of pepper and pour them with whipped mixture. Sprinkle the cake with grated cheese and bake it in the oven, preheated to 200 ° C, for about 40 minutes.