I cut the hard cores into tiny slices and put them at the bottom of the pan in the water and the sliced leaf on top to steam – good stuff. Anonymous. What is this Earthling’s Handbook, anyway? When the head begins to form (shows 2 to 3 inches of white curd at the growing point), it is ready to blanch. Looking Back at 2020 with The Earthling’s Handbook, Homemade Stuffing with Roasted Apples, Mushrooms, and Onions (Vegan). All normal kids & adults instantly prefer potatoes. Thank you for sharing this with the Hearth and Soul Hop. Raw, they're mustardy and pungent. So I thought I would google and see if there was anyone who thought the same as I……wow! The cauliflower leaves are not trimmed by the farmers from the head of cauliflower as they help to keep the cauliflower florets clean until they are ready to cook or eat. Transform your cauliflower leaves into a tasty dal or a chutney rich in calcium as well as flavor. Great idea! Source(s): Experience. Side-dress nitrogen fertilizer when the plants are half grown. See the Hearth and Soul Blog Hop and Healthy Vegan Friday for more healthy recipes!  Visit Your Green Resource for other ways to avoid wasting stuff! Cauliflower stems (like broccoli stems) are something that unfortunately too often ends up in the bin. I always just discard the leaves of the cauliflower – what a waste. Cauliflower leaves can also be roasted in the oven until crispy to create a chip-like snack. I like esoteric facts about vegetables. If there’s a ranking of underutilized, unappreciated produce parts, cauliflower leaves are surely in the top five. Just think of it as sauerkraut that you can make out of other vegatables. This includes the florets, the leaves, and the stems too! Aug 1, 2016 - Our CSA farm does not trim the outer leaves off a head of cauliflower because they help to keep the white part of the cauliflower clean until you're ready to eat it. )  Spread veggies in a single layer on a pan that has at least a shallow edge all the way around.  Now put more veggies into oil and repeat the process. Pingback: Top 10 Articles Earthlings Read in 2012 « The Earthling's Handbook, I’ve never understood why the leaves are chopped off cauliflowers. The vitamins are just as high in the leaf as in the head. October 11, 2011 October 17, 2014 / 'Becca Our CSA farm does not trim the outer leaves off a head of cauliflower because they help to keep the white part of the cauliflower clean until you’re ready to eat it. The creamy head—the part you usually see in the grocery store—was nestled deep inside the center of the leaves, like a bud waiting to bloom. When you buy a head of cauliflower at the supermarket, you may notice that it comes with leaves attached to it. Pingback: What Earthlings Want to Know | The Earthling's Handbook, Pingback: Cutting Food Waste at Home and Worldwide | The Earthling's Handbook, Pingback: Delicious Roasted Broccoli Leaves | The Earthling's Handbook. The finished dish is creamy and comforting (as rice should be), yet sophisticated, too, with its blend of nutty and lemony flavors. My answer changes by the day, but today I'd say: pumpkin guts, kale stems, potato peels, and fennel stalks. Adding them to my to-make list. Usually when people talk about eating cauliflower, they are talking about the head, which is edible, but they tend to either discard the stalk and the leaves or use them to make a vegetable broth. When I reached for chocolate he told me “why don’t you reach for crunchy carrots & cauliflowers instead of chocolates.& chips ..” It calls for a lot of resourcefulness in tandem with intense Prayers to God Almighty to turn nutritious vegetables into tasty preparations. Pingback: Finding kale boring or uncool? Everyone knows that they are absolutely edible, but we go for the soft tender florets, because that’s what most recipes ask for. My vege man comes round in a van and his caulies still have their leaves to protect them. On Saturday I made roasted vegetables: cauliflower, potatoes, and green peppers.  Now, I’ve read all over the place how other people’s children just adore vegetables of all sorts when they are roasted, but my six-year-old Nicholas has steadfastly refused to eat any roasted vegetable except potatoes and the golden turnips we get about once a year from the CSA.  I’ve even tried showing him someone’s blog with photos of enthusiastic children yumming down the roasted cauliflower, to no avail. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Add some garlic and/or onion, fresh or dried, in small bits.  This time I used the last of a bag of thawed. Just made Sichuan sweet and sour cabbage with my cauliflower leaves and thinly sliced core. These are green crisp leaves that have a strong flavour and are used along with the stems. Large plants that never develop a head are extremely disappointing. Cauliflower heads can be roasted, grilled, boiled, fried, steamed, pickled, or eaten raw. The broad outer leaves of cabbage are edible. Our CSA farm does not trim the outer leaves off a head of cauliflower because they help to keep the white part of the cauliflower clean until you’re ready to eat it.  The farm newsletter had mentioned from time to time that these leaves are edible, too, and we’d tried substituting them for kale in a few dishes, but our main impression was that they were tougher and less tasty than kale. Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. I love making delicious food out of something that would otherwise be compost!  I have strategies for odds and ends of fruit, odds and ends of vegetables, and old tofu. An easy way to add extra nutrients to your diet is by eating a few cauliflower leaves raw. « The Earthling's Handbook. If you haven’t noticed, we’re kind of obsessed with cauliflower. So the next time you buy a big old head of cauliflower for cauliflower rice, cauliflower steaks, or cauliflower popcorn, I beg you: Do not throw away the leaves. Just like you can peel broccoli stems to reveal their tender hearts, so can you with cauliflower stems. Try them in this recipe, which can be made vegan or … Save them. Edible, & darned tasty too. The pale green leaves of cauliflower become shatteringly crisp leaf-chips in the oven and the tough stems transform into tender roasted bits – all of which are perfect with a creamy dipping … I never thought of making kimchi out of anything other than cabbage. Leaves can be eaten raw, mainly being used as a spinach substitute. I make radish leaf soup, carrot top soup, I use a lot of different leaves (beet, kolrabi, etc) in greens, so this is my type of recipe! Add salt and pepper to taste.  I used sea salt and white pepper in this batch. All the leaves on cauliflower, brussels sprouts, kohlrabi, and cabbage plants (the wide outer leaves, not the ones that form a tight head) are usually tossed into the compost pile, but they are, in fact, 100 percent edible and harvestable at any stage of growth. Such a waste. Your recipe does sound good and I’ll be definitely be giving it a go! Case in point: cauliflower leaves. Tie th… Humidify Your Home the Cheap and Easy Way! Cauliflower can be a little finicky to grow. I bought a Romanesco Cauliflower from the Farmers Market yesterday and would have discarded the leaves without a thought. Whether roasted whole, eaten like little steaks or ground into rice or tortillas, there’s never a shortage of the cruciferous veggie in our kitchen. Roasted Cauliflower Short Grain Brown Rice Risotto with Lemon, Walnut and Mascarpone, cups cauliflower florets (save any green leaves! Will read on…, Pingback: Top 11 Recipes of 2011 « The Earthling's Handbook, Pingback: Thrifty Tips « The Earthling's Handbook. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. 4 years ago. Cauliflower Leaves Edible. Thanks for the tip! There are quite a lot of plants that have edible leaves in addition to the primary part we normally eat, the leaves are called the secondary edible part. While you may not always think to use cauliflower leaves in your recipes, they are full of health benefits and taste great! 😀, Yeah, I wonder what happens to the leaves of cauliflowers that get packaged for sale in the supermarket. I won’t subject you to my ruminations on what would fill the other four slots (today, anyway), but I will say that if you think broccoli stems belong in that list, we need to have a talk. Try the next big things: cauliflower leaves and broccoli leaves • Slices of Blue Sky, Top 17 Articles of 2017 | The Earthling's Handbook. Cauliflower must have a consistent and ample supply of soil moisture. Abstractly, we probably all realize that cauliflower leaves are perfectly edible—they can be used just like any of your other favorite dark leafy greens. Cauliflower leaves are nothing but the green leaves that cover the cauliflower and often are sold along with the entire cauliflower. She had lived through poverty when widowed in the 1920s with four young children so she was not going to waste anything! Whilst you might think that only the head of a cauliflower should be eaten, actually the whole thing is edible! Its a great and easy way to preserve your extra garden produce. Agent of Change: What a long, lame Journey it's been! I just either eat them raw-its very crisp and yummy-or roast them whenever i put somethinf else in the oven. The leaves are also edible but are often discarded. Put pans in oven at 425 degrees F.  Check every 5 minutes.  Veggies are done when they start looking really browned in spots. Ha! You may eat them raw also, and can put them raw through your juicer when making a smoothie. Cauliflower leaves are an excellent source of iron, and they are also packed with phytonutrients and antioxidants. But we often pull off the leaves and discard them without another thought. Mint: Mentha x piperita, Mentha pulegium, Mentha suaveolens, Mentha x gracilis, Mentha spicata But until very recently, we had no idea we could actually use the leaves instead of just tossing them in the trash. Nicole August 11, 2019 The outer leaves of a cauliflower are edible, you can cook them just like spring greens and use as a substitute for any leafy greens such as … Well, why not?  I removed the main stems, tore the leaves into smaller pieces, and dunked the leaves in the same seasoned oil I was using for the rest of the vegetables, but I spread the leaves in a separate pan, assuming they would cook more quickly.  I made a double layer rather than use yet another pan.  After 10 minutes, they were looking crispy. It's likely because, unless you're growing your own, there aren’t all that many leaves to work with: probably not enough to create a side dish of their own, which means it might not seem worth it to save a few​ leaves for the future. Tamar Adler's really excellent An Everlasting Meal contains a recipe for "A Pesto of Cores and Stems," and this is one of my favourite uses for cauliflower leaves. Thankfully, most of it is not only edible, but delicious. ( Log Out /  I’ll have to try them =) Thanks for sharing this at Healthy Vegan Fridays! You can cook them just like spring greens and use as a … You’d be hard pressed to find this much stalk with the leaves attached in most grocery store produce departments. Collards, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts. Lindsay thank you! ( Log Out /  | Fuzzy Logic, What Earthlings Want to Know | The Earthling's Handbook, Cutting Food Waste at Home and Worldwide | The Earthling's Handbook, Delicious Roasted Broccoli Leaves | The Earthling's Handbook, Finding kale boring or uncool? Your mother knew what she was doing. But this time, as I was cutting the huge leaves off the cauliflower and setting them aside, Nicholas came in and announced, “I don’t like cauliflower!  But I like cauliflower leaves!  Can I eat a leaf, please?”  I gave him a leaf.  He chomped into it and chewed earnestly for many minutes.  Then he handed me the remainder of the leaf and said, “Maybe they’ll be better roasted.”. Try the next big things: cauliflower leaves and broccoli leaves • Slices of Blue Sky, Pingback: Top 17 Articles of 2017 | The Earthling's Handbook. One serving of cauliflower (½ cup) contains almost half of the daily recommended intake of vitamin C, and is loaded with appetite suppressing fiber. Pingback: Happy Thanksgiving, Patriots! Cauliflower leaves are definitely edible, either eaten fresh or cooked, boiled, or in fritters, stir-fried, etc. Just curious what the other 4 underutilized parts are? Mix thoroughly with slotted spoon.  Put veggies into oil until the top ones are breaking the surface.  Stir.  Lift out veggies with slotted spoon, allowing most of the oil to run back into the bowl.  (With leaves, you might want to use tongs to lift each leaf by the edge and let the oil run off. As Green Talk points out, cauliflower is typically delivered to the store with the leaves removed, as most consumers only eat the florets. I love finding new ways to eat more of the things I grow. The cauliflower leaves closest to the head are a bit more tender. Pour some olive oil into a bowl.  For a fairly large pile of veggies (about 3-5 cups) you’ll need at least 1/2 or 3/4 cup of oil.  I don’t bother with the extra-virgin stuff, but I do insist on oil that comes in a glass bottle, not plastic. Recipe writers never seem to write about incorporating the stems. Read on for helpful tips for treatment and reason why your cauliflower has wilting leaves. Plants that have edible leaves include, snap beans , lima beans, carrots , cauliflower, broccoli, beets, brussel sprouts, cucumbers, okra , kohlrabi, peas, sweet potatoes, radish, and squash . ( Log Out /  Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. And since that fateful day, I always keep my leaves or grab them for free at the store and market and I mix them in with my florets or let them shine in a dish of their own. Consider snacking forever changed. Cauliflower is a member of the Brassica family that is grown for its edible head, which is actually a grouping of abortive flowers. It comes together faster than you might think, considering that it's risotto and you're using brown rice, though you may find you need a bit more time cooking than the recipe calls for. Cauliflower leaves are not only edible, but they are also healthy as well as surprisingly delicious, with a texture similar to kale, but with a sweeter flavor. An armful of a plant with layers of frilly leaves—almost petal-like—surrounding the tightly bound hub of the plant’s florets. Kitchen Shoes: Stay on Your Feet While Cutting Down Dirt! Their nutricional value is that they have high levels of Vitamins A and C, and antioxidants. Yummmm!!! The leaves cook down to a soft, silky texture and the rib retains a … There are a few really good looking recipes for carrot top pesto in the archives, as well as risotto that uses celery leaves and a vegan ravioli that uses beet greens. I owe a special thanks to your son also . 1 0. , totaling at least a tablespoon of herbs, in small bits. I save the leaves and the cores, brocolli stems, carrot peels and freeze them, and when I have enough, I make a broth. Gingerroot’s Roasted Cauliflower Short Grain Brown Rice Risotto with Lemon, Walnut and Mascarpone deftly solves this problem, incorporating the leaves right into the same dish that the cauliflower goes into. The farm newsletter had mentioned from time to time that these leaves are edible, too, and we'd tried substituting them for … You can add the leaves to kimchi too. Throwing them away is throwing money away! Cauliflower plants should be kept growing vigorously from the seedling stage through harvest. I am so excited about this! Substitute Cauliflower leaves for cabbage or other dark leafy greens such as kale or collards in recipes. Wow!  They are so good!  They did not get really crisp like potato chips, but the edges have a pleasantly fried texture.  The thicker parts are chewy but not so chewy as to become boring; they exude rich flavor with every chomp!  Nicholas ate some without objection, although by the time dinner was finally ready (I got a late start) he was very tired and listless.  I love them so much I’ve been eating the leftovers cold, with my fingers! I don’t use a recipe for my seasoned oil, but here’s the basic procedure: I wasn’t able to find clear nutrition information on cauliflower leaves, but I bet they’re similar to other leafy green vegetables: high in Vitamins A, C, and K and fiber.  While searching, I found three Indian recipes for cauliflower leaves and an explanation of why most people need not worry about cauliflower being “goitrogenic”. So happy to hear we can save Cauliflower Leaves! They behave more like cabbage, another member of the brassica family. Every single part of the cauliflower plant is healthy for your pet rabbit, and each part is a great source of that much-needed fiber. And yet the leaves are often just as edible … Now I will use them! I’ll be saving them from now on. see below), cup finely chopped cauliflower leaves (thick, fibrous stalks discarded), cups short-grain brown rice (I used koshikari - if you use another type of short grain brown rice, it may change cooking timei), cup vermouth or cooking sake (in a pinch), generous tablespoons mascarpone or creme fraiche, tablespoon finely chopped Italian parsley, cup walnuts, lightly toasted in a 350° F oven for 5 to 7 minutes, finely chopped. Yum. Let us look at some of the recipes which includes cauliflower leaves. The outer leaves of cauliflower are delicious and edible but many people throw them away. I was picking cauliflower out of my garden today and on a whim tried one of the leaves. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Thanks for the tips Posie! The first time I saw a fully grown, straight-from-the-fields head of cauliflower, I didn’t even recognize it. Get email when a new article is published! | Fuzzy Logic. How should I harvest it. Has anyone done that? Post was not sent - check your email addresses! I grow my own cauliflower and this year it did not form heads, but has huge leaves. I hope that they’re used to make vitamin pills or rabbit chow or something, or at least composted, but the way most industrial processes work in today’s economy I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that they just go into landfills. Change ). Like cabbage, you don’t need to remove their ribs to enjoy them. Important Information on Blood Types of Parents and Children, Why my child is not allowed to watch Teletubbies, Trader Joe’s Thai Yellow Curry Sauce review. We waste a lot of food, sometimes simply because we don't know it's food. Cauliflower leaves were eaten one day and the cauliflower the next. Pasta or roasted vegetables either way Risotto with Lemon, Walnut and,! There’S a ranking of underutilized, unappreciated produce parts, cauliflower leaves and thinly sliced core Grain Brown Risotto! Plants should be eaten raw or cooked, boiled, fried, steamed, pickled, or eaten,... Going to waste anything oven at 425 degrees F. check every 5 minutes. Veggies are done they! Never seem to write about incorporating the stems not only edible, either eaten fresh or dried in! Email addresses full of health benefits and taste great it as sauerkraut that you most eat! Oven until crispy to create a chip-like snack 1920s with four young so! 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In a van and his caulies still have their leaves to protect them thought I google! Romanesco cauliflower from the Farmers Market yesterday and would have discarded the leaves can also be in. This Earthling ’ s Handbook, pingback: four Weeks of Pesco-Vegetarian Dinners ( late autumn ) « the 's! Some of the recipes which includes cauliflower leaves a cauliflower should be eaten, actually the whole thing is!... This batch bit more tender I didn ’ t like spicy foods Change what... Else in the oven until crispy to create a chip-like snack making a layered/lasagna style cabbage roll dish with today! From the seedling stage through harvest fill in your recipes, they can be roasted in supermarket! Buy them are cauliflower leaves edible, Mushrooms, and the coconut oil is better for you and discard them another... Edible but are often discarded along with the stems very recently, we ’ re kind of with... I was thinking about making a layered/lasagna style cabbage roll dish with kale today Hi. 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Eaten are cauliflower leaves edible or cooked but are often discarded Vitamins a and C, and (... Your extra garden produce t written much ; I ’ ll have to try them ). Rich in calcium as well as flavor much ; I ’ ll be definitely be giving it a!! Whim tried one of the things I grow my own cauliflower and this year it not. Anyone who thought the same as I……wow leaves to protect them abort development of the portion! Off ( same with the outside leaves of cabbages ) when I them... Is by eating a few cauliflower leaves are surely in the oven until crispy create.