"Cauliflower is just Cabbage that went to College"
I heard this recently and I totally disagree! How dare the idiot insult both of those great Vegetables in one sentence.
I particularly enjoy cabbage in the varied multitude of ways they are eaten by my family both in the Wok and Not. It's the humble cabbage that ensures that fresh stir fry crunch in Right Wok Sauces alongside green beans, sugar snaps and baby sweetcorn. It's the same humble Brassica that healthily thickens a meaty gravy simply flavoured with roasted onions and garlic. This is such a quick gravy and allows the meaty flavours to be paired with a good portion your five a day not only cheaply but easily with time for strokes and play!
It is important when roasting cabbage under meat that you cut it chunky as if you want it to pull in all those meaty juices it needs to be in the oven from the start. We cut ours into thick rings with all but the very end of the stalk left on. The cabbage then forms a 'lid' over the chunky diced onions and garlic cloves underneath, making sure they don't burn. If you have a particularly large piece of meat that needs cooking for a long time then it is advisable to keep the 'lid' covered by the meat as well, though sometimes the bitterness might sometimes complement other flavours in your dish. Make sure you include some butter or flavoured oil over the onions and garlic before covering with the cabbage rounds and finally the meat. Spread more oil or butter over any cabbage that shows round the meat and add a cup (pretty much any cup will do) of water or stock. Shove the joint in the oven and cook as planned. It is sensible to have a peek at how things are going over the cooking period, adding more stock or water if the base seems to be drying out. It's important to try and prevent the joint sitting in water and the cabbage is good at acting like a vegetable grill! Interestingly, fat cut cauliflower can also serve this purpose but the result is not so reliable and considering the higher cost cabbage is my first choice. You can add any flavours you wish to the roasting tin but remember to consider the length of time it will be in the oven Also, you can add flavours when you take the roasting pan out. First remove the meat and set aside to rest then remove the cabbage into a bowl with a slot spoon draining as much liquid as possible. Put the roasting tray on a hob (if you can't do this then try adding some liquid as below and putting under the grill) and heat until roasting juices are bubbling (should be seconds) before adding another cup of stock with appropriate herbs and spices to complement the rest of your dish. Stir well before skimming off any excess fat. The cabbage should have cooled some now and it should be rough chopped lightly seasoned and added to the roasting juices to simmer for a few minutes before removing everything and blending well.
With cauliflower it has to be with cheesy sauce but healthier sauces can be nice. For example Greek yoghurt with grated cheese can provide a nice low fat cheesy sauce. Replacing the milk in a white sauce with yoghurt is less of a health thing and more about freshness as it can really lift other cheesy dishes like macaroni cheese. Another family favourite is Bombay Gobi using mustard seeds, turmeric and cumin with chilli as desired.
Both vegetables are massively versatile and can be used in so many ways it seems his comment was definitely a Not!
I'm Noodles, I'm not a poodle, and I can't doodle 'cause I don't have any hands. Luckily, they invented keyboards!