Never tried the Pizza of cauliflower? In the United States, it's the fashion of the moment (one of the talk show queen has even been launched Oprahy Winfrey), and now it has arrived also in Italy. What's special about it? All. First of all it is not a normal margherita stuffed with this vegetable because in the "Cauliflower pizza" cauliflower is used indough instead of wheat flour. This makes it also suitable for celiacs: in fact to "invent" the recipe was just one mum, who was looking for a solution to be able to satisfy his two people's desire for pizza celiac children. In just over two years this home made recipe has become acompany, which sells its pizzas in over 9 thousand shops of the United States. How do you prepare it? The it takes cauliflower should be boiled or cooked al vapor, press with your hands to drain well and whisk. The cream thus obtained must be spread in the baking tin and covered with tomato and mozzarella cheese, like traditional pizza. It should be put in the oven and in 15 minutes the pizza (to be eaten strictly with a knife and fork causes consistency soft) ready.

Beyond pizza there is more
There is not only the pizza behind the success of the cauliflower, which is conquering American supermarkets and has reached only a few months to generate over a third of sales of plant products "Substitute" of carbohydrates (like zucchini spaghetti) landing in almost forty categories of products: from cheeses spreadable on piadina, from pizzas ready to baby food, from frozen tagliatelle to cauliflower rice. Merit of delicate taste, versatility in the kitchen and nutritional virtues, which make it one of the protagonists of many diets fashionable, like the paleo-diet, and that meet the new ones nutritional trends, like the reduction of carbohydrates and the greater consumption of vegetables. Heck, it would not be, therefore, the time to come rediscover cauliflower also from us?

Italy is the home of cauliflowers
Typically Mediterranean (and Italian in particular) the cauliflower is distinguished from other cabbages by the white inflorescences, wrapped by a few leaves smooth. There are so many nuances of "white": from the candid one of the snowball type to the one with shades cream of the giant of Naples. In fact in Italy (especially in the center and south) comes cultivated in many different types, especially for i colors of the "head": in addition to the white one, there are also cauliflowers greens, purple and orange, mostly already divided into it takes and sold in tray. It is about hybrids of traditional vegetables (like the green of Macerata, the late Fano and the violet of Sicily) or spontaneous mutations, as in the case of cauliflower Orange. A lot of research has been done on these cabbages, both to improve their productions and to lengthen the season so much so that, if once the cauliflower it was only available for a few winter months, today it is collects from October to April.

A true made in Italy superfood
One of the reasons why cauliflower has reached it status of "vegetarian celebrity" is its nutritional profile: few sugars and calories, practically no fat, many fibers, and above all a capital of detoxifying compounds (such as indoles and phenols) e anticancer (like isothiocyanates). The cauliflower also brings mineral salts (especially potassium and boron) and vitamins (such as A and folates). Surprise: the concentration of vitamin C is similar to that of citrus fruits (48.2 mg / 100 g). A 100 gram portion of cauliflower has only 25 calories and provides 5 grams of carbohydrates and 3 grams of fibers. In comparison, the same amount of rice (which in the US has become almost a substitute) provides six times more calories and more sugar, with a third however of the fibers. There is no race.

So delicate to go unnoticed
Among the many exponents of the family of cabbage, cauliflower is the one with a less pronounced taste. And this is an important plus both to make it like even those who do not love these vegetables both to enhance it in the kitchen. Thanks to his touch delicate, the cauliflower is perfect to cushion dishes that are too tasty or spicy (like those full of curry or hot pepper) and it's a simple way "Invisible" to add more vegetables (and more cruciferous in particular) to their own diet daily. In the States the "cauliflower fever" made him the protagonist of thousand of recipes, which have flooded the web: from muffins, to gnocchi with chocolate brownies. One of the most popular ways in USA to prepare it is to chop it or pulverize in grains, to be used also as a substitute for rice in sushi, in stuffed peppers and in taco bowl. The cauliflower is also an excellent base for many vegetable substitutes: just a food processor or a classic potato masher to turn it into delicious spaghetti.

Cooked yes, but as little as possible
In order not to lose its precious nutritious principles, cauliflower should be consumed raw, cut into thin slices (because the more its chopped antitumor compounds are absorbed the better) with others vegetables (but it is also delicious with pomegranate) and seasoned as a 'salad. Among the cooking the best is that a vapor, provided it is short. Alternatively, it can be cooked over high heat in one cooking pan steel (without adding water), gratin baked with béchamel sauce, or batter it fry. If you choose to boil it, add a piece of water to the water bread soaked in vinegar, it allows to mitigate the unmistakable smell that spreads in theair during cooking. Another "trick" is to add juice lemon in the water where the cauliflowers are boiled colored: so they will not fade after cooking.

Manuela Soressi
February 2019

photo credits © EU / Interfel / Amélie Roche, © Philippe DUFOUR / Interfel