How to cook cauliflower soup?
Vegetables and fruits should occupy a large part in human nutrition. They should be included daily in the diet.For particularly useful and delicious dishes should include soups from such a vegetable as cauliflower. Cauliflower dishes are cooked quickly and simply, and the result is nourishing and healthy rich soup, mashed soups, and various side dishes.
Cauliflower dishes can be prepared for very young children. Such food will be useful to people of any age, it is included in the diet for many diseases of the stomach and intestines. In this case, dishes with cauliflower can be cooked by both vegetarians and lovers of rich meat broths.
The benefits and harms of vegetables
From early childhood, a large number of products are present in the human diet, most of them are occupied by vegetables and fruits. Their use contributes to the improvement of immunity, the enrichment of the whole organism with useful and necessary nutrients, trace elements and valuable minerals.
Not much is known about the beneficial properties of cauliflower, since it is not as popular as the more usual cabbage. But who ever tried to cook dishes from this valuable vegetable, he will certainly appreciate its delicate taste.
For the first time, cauliflower began to grow in Syria, whence came its second name - Syrian cabbage. Then they began to cultivate this vegetable in Cyprus and after some time these curly cabbage heads began to be cooked in Europe. During the reign of Catherine the Great, Syrian cabbage dishes were used as a delicacy, and only rich and noble grandees could afford them.
The climatic conditions for the cultivation of this healthy and tasty vegetable were unsuitable for a long time, since the heads of the cobblestones froze and did not ripen. Only after more frost-resistant varieties were bred, did cauliflower be grown everywhere, and it became one of the favorite vegetables for many gardeners. Dishes from it are prepared not only at home, but in many restaurants you can find delicious dishes in the menu, which include Syrian or curly cabbage.
It should be said that dishes from curly cabbage have been used in many diets, since the calorie content of the product is only 30 kcal. Cauliflower can simply be called a storehouse of beneficial vitamins and minerals that have a huge positive effect on the human body.
- B vitamins, contained in large quantities in this vegetable, will contribute to increased energy and vitality.
- Thanks to vitamin Acontained in large quantities in this useful vegetable, will slow down the physiological aging process. This vegetable is recommended for people with cardiovascular diseases, as well as those who have vision problems.
- Thanks to vitamin C the body will more quickly cope with various diseases and infections.
- Due to the large number vitamin E vegetables should be included with the diet for women, due to the presence of this vitamin they normalize hormones. Men are also recommended to use this vegetable, as cauliflower helps to increase potency.
In addition, in this valuable vegetable there is a sufficient amount of vitamins K, PP, N. It is worth saying that vitamin H contributes to the fact that the skin remains young and healthy for a long time. Thanks to dietary fibers found in Syrian cabbage, the natural intestinal microflora is restored. Eating dishes from this vegetable helps to normalize weight, they should be included in the diet of those who have problems with weight.
In addition to the beneficial vitamins, cauliflower contains:
- phosphorus, thanks to which bones and teeth become stronger;
- magnesiumnecessary for the normal functioning of the nervous system, for the normalization of blood pressure;
- selenium, thanks to him, the resistance of the organism to various viruses and infections increases dramatically;
- ironso necessary for the circulatory system;
- copperdue to her normalization of insulin levels, as well as the formation of hemoglobin;
- zincthanks to him, increased muscle activity, strengthened bones.
This vegetable contains a large amount of sodium, calcium, potassium, manganese. Undoubtedly, this product should be included in the diet of those who have problems with the kidneys, since its use contributes to the normalization of water-salt balance. Syrian cabbage should be regularly included in the diet at any age.
Especially the dishes from it are useful for children, as the vegetable contains a large amount of calcium to strengthen the teeth and bones. With regular use of cauliflower dishes, the risk of fractures is reduced, which is important in old age.
Among the healing properties of this vegetable should be noted:
- positive effects on the immune system;
- tonic effect;
- antioxidant properties;
- vegetable has regenerating properties;
- choleretic and laxative effects;
- thanks to its use, the metabolism is regulated, cholesterol is normalized, as well as the level of glucose in the blood.
The use of dishes from cabbage helps rejuvenate and strengthen the body. Yet, despite the great benefits that this vegetable has, cauliflower has some contraindications. It should not be included in the diet in large quantities to those who:
- has kidney problems;
- patients with gout;
- has thyroid problems;
- patients undergoing abdominal surgery;
- is allergic to the product.
How to choose a quality product?
Cauliflower can be found on the market or on the shelves of supermarkets almost all year round. When choosing a product you need to pay attention to the appearance of the head. Syrian cabbage can be white, yellow, blue, purple, or have different shades, but most often you can find a white vegetable. The heading should be tight and not loose. You should pay attention to the color of the vegetable, it should be uniform, without dark spots. If there are spots on cabbage, bacteria grow very quickly at these places, the vegetable begins to rot, which leads to a decrease in the beneficial properties and a deterioration in the taste of the product.
Cabbage leaves should be green. It is advisable to choose a vegetable that is most covered with leaves that protect it. If the leaves are not or they are sluggish, you should not buy such a product. This suggests that the vegetable is already stored for a long time. Head out and pick up the buds to check how fresh this vegetable is. When pressed, fresh cabbage remains elastic. This vegetable belongs to the perishable products, so it is desirable after purchase to quickly use it for the preparation of various healthy dishes.
After buying a vegetable no need to wash. Store it fresh for several days. You need to put the product for storage in a dry place so that it does not get moisture, which will lead to rapid deterioration. It is not recommended to store cauliflower with other vegetables in the same compartment of the refrigerator. If this vegetable is stored for a long time, more than 2-3 weeks, the useful properties in it will remain much less.
Long-term storage will reduce the taste of the product, so fresh cabbage is more beneficial for eating.
Choosing a cauliflower, you should pay attention to:
- the head was elastic;
- had a white color, without inclusions;
- on a fresh vegetable there should be green, elastic leaves, if they are not there, it means that the vegetable is stored for some time, and the leaves have already wilted and they are cut;
- It is necessary to give preference to heads with a weight of about 700 grams, a larger size may indicate that the fruit is over-ripe, so the taste of the finished dish will be worse.
When the season is over, frozen cauliflower is suitable for preparing delicious and nutritious dishes. In order to have the opportunity to cook your favorite dishes at any time of the year, it is important to freeze the vegetable correctly.To freeze you need to choose a fresh head of cabbage; do not use a product that has already been stored for a long time for harvesting. After choosing a head of cab, it should be placed in salted water for a while. In loose heads, bugs and spiders often come across to get rid of them, using saline.
To prepare it, you need to take 1 liter of water and add 4 tbsp. spoons of salt. Inflorescences or a whole head of cabbage dipped in a container with brine and incubated for at least half an hour. After that, the water is drained, the insects are removed, and the cabbage is poured again. Cauliflower before freezing is recommended to blanch. If this is not done, after thawing, the inflorescences may become loose and watery. For blanching, the inflorescences are placed in hot water so that they are completely covered with liquid, and after boiling the vegetable is boiled for 3 minutes. Then the inflorescences are placed in ice water to quickly complete the cooking process. After the cabbage cools, the inflorescences are dragged out with a skimmer and prepared for long-term storage in the freezer.
It is necessary to think in advance for which dishes will be used vegetables and cut into inflorescences accordingly.
To make the dish tasty, you should adhere to the following tips:
- use only fresh produce for freezing;
- it is possible to prepare inflorescences in warm or cold form, the main thing is to wait for them to dry, otherwise ice crystals will be on them;
- inflorescences should not be thawed before cooking, they are placed directly on the pan, pan or microwave.
To prevent frozen vegetables from losing their beneficial properties, they are recommended to be used within 9 months.
Popular Recipes
Cauliflower has a very delicate and spicy taste. Meals with this useful vegetable in the composition will be not only tasty, satisfying, but also very useful. This is especially true of first courses. Dietary soup cooked on a hot summer day will be a full meal, and will not allow you to gain extra calories, as it uses low-calorie foods. Light vegetable soup made from vegetables is perfect for those who want to lose weight. Therefore, dishes from cauliflower should be used for weight loss.
But in the winter hearty cream soup will warm even in the most severe frost. You can cook first courses in a slow cooker or use an ordinary stove for this. There is a huge number of simple and interesting recipes from which you can learn how to cook a melted cheese soup quickly and tasty, how to make a first course with cream or a children's soup that is suitable for a baby in 1 year.
Vegetarian
To prepare a simple but tasty vegetarian soup you will need the following ingredients:
- cauliflower - small head;
- potatoes - 2 or 3 pieces, depending on the size;
- carrot - 1 pc .;
- Onion - 1 pc .;
- sweet pepper - 1 pc .;
- salt and spices.
Such a first dish can be prepared both on a regular stove and in a slow cooker. To cook in a slow cooker, all vegetables must be cut. To do this, carrots, peppers, onions and potatoes are cut into pieces, and the cauliflower is disassembled into inflorescences. 2-2,5 liters of pure water are poured into the bowl, vegetables are laid, the “Quenching” mode is turned on for 40 minutes.
This recipe can be used as a more satisfying dish by simply adding chicken meat to it. Unfortunately, it can not be attributed to vegetarian dishes, but meat lovers will definitely like it.
With lentils
To make a delicious lentil soup, which, by the way, is often served in restaurants, need to take such products:
- 2 or 3 potatoes;
- one onion;
- one carrot;
- 200-300 grams of cauliflower inflorescences;
- 100 grams of lentils of any color;
- sunflower oil - 3 tbsp. spoons;
- salt to taste;
- spices (paprika, turmeric, pepper);
- greenery.
It is worth telling how to cook the first dishes from cauliflower and lentils step by step.Cooking it does not take much time, and the result always remains canceled.
To make the dish tasty, you need the following.
- Take a pot with a thick bottom or cauldron, pour oil into it and throw onions and carrots.
- Season the vegetables on medium heat for 5 minutes.
- Put diced potatoes.
- Add spices.
- Leave in the cauldron for browning for 5-7 minutes.
- Add boiling water, for cooking soup, just take 1.5 liters of liquid.
- Wash the lentils and add to the soup.
- Put cauliflower florets.
- After 8-10 minutes, add salt and herbs to the pan.
- Turn off the pot of soup.
To cook this dish, it is better to take red lentils, as it is boiled soft much faster than green or yellow. If you can not buy red lentils, you can take another, but then the cooking time should be increased.
Cheese
The first dish with cheese is very tasty and satisfying, its taste is tender and creamy. To prepare a cheese first course, you should prepare the following products:
- 100 grams of cheese;
- 250-300 g of beef or veal;
- a small head of cauliflower;
- 3 liters of water;
- 3-4 potatoes;
- 1-2 carrots;
- one large onion;
- butter 30 grams;
- salt, spices.
To prepare the soup, you need to cut the meat into small portions, fill it with water. In the water, add the whole peeled onion. After the onion is boiled, it is taken out whole from the broth. Then you should take the head of cauliflower and disassemble it into inflorescences. They can be cut more finely or left intact, depending on personal preference. Put butter in a frying pan, heat it up and add inflorescences, fry them until golden brown.
When the meat is almost ready, carrots and potatoes are added to the container. After 10-15 minutes, plates of cheese are placed in the broth, add roasted inflorescences, sprinkle with parsley. Add salt and spices to taste. The dish should be left to boil for another 7-8 minutes and mix.
Cream soup
Cream soup with cream is very tasty. To make a delicate soup with a creamy taste, you need to take the necessary components:
- cauliflower head;
- potatoes - 2-3 pieces;
- carrots - 1 pc .;
- bulb;
- cheese - 110-120 grams;
- cream 100-120 ml;
- water 1.5 liters;
- salt, spices.
To prepare the first dish, boil the inflorescences in salted water for 15 minutes, then drain the water. Fry the finely chopped onion in butter. When the onions become soft, add cubes of carrots and potatoes to the dishes. All vegetables are stewed for a few minutes, then water is added and left to stew for another 5 minutes. Then the contents are placed in a blender and whipped until mashed. After it is sent to the pan, where the soup is cooked, pour cream, sprinkle with grated cheese, add salt and spices. As soon as the liquid boils, let it boil for another 2-3 minutes, then set aside.
Chicken
This first course will certainly appeal to many. Although it is low-calorie, but after its use a feeling of fullness will remain for a long time. To prepare the dish you need to take the following products:
- chicken fillet - 200-250 grams;
- 130-150 g of cauliflower;
- one medium sized carrot;
- large onion;
- 300 g tomatoes;
- 1500 ml of water;
- olive oil - 2 tbsp. spoons;
- salt and spices, fresh greens.
To prepare rich chicken soup, you need to place small pieces of fillet in a container of boiling water. After that, you need to take the tomatoes and dip them in boiling water, then place them in cold water. After this procedure, the skin of the tomatoes can be easily removed. Tomatoes without skin finely chopped. After that, carrots, onions and cauliflower should be cut.
All vegetables should be cut into small pieces. Chopped vegetables are sent to boiling water and the foam is removed so that the broth is clear. Then you should put chopped tomatoes, salt, add spices and olive oil.After boiling the soup you need to cook it for about 8-10 minutes. At the end add the greens and served to the table.
Instead of chicken fillet, you can use other meat, but in this case, the soup will be more high-calorie.
Meat soup
To cook the first dish of vegetables and pork will need such Components:
- a piece of pork about 300 grams;
- one medium sized carrot;
- a small head of cauliflower;
- 3-4 potatoes;
- bulb;
- spices, sea salt.
To make a tasty and rich dish of meat and cauliflower you need the following.
- Cut vegetables. To do this, cut the carrot into cubes or rub on a grater, cut the potatoes into cubes, and finely chop the onion.
- The cauliflower head out is pulled into forks, and if necessary, the large inflorescences are cut.
- Pork slices are poured with water and boiled. When the broth is almost ready, put vegetables in it and leave to stew for 7 minutes.
- After cauliflower is placed in the broth with vegetables and boiled for 8-10 minutes.
- At the end of cooking, add salt, spices and chopped greens.
For a child
Children do not always like to eat first courses, so for many parents it becomes a problem to feed the little tomboy. It is worth trying to cook for kids delicious and healthy soup with meatballs. Ingredients Required:
- one liter of water;
- three potatoes;
- one carrot;
- small onion;
- 20 g of tomato paste;
- 200 g of cauliflower;
- 200 g of minced meat;
- olive oil;
- spices and salt;
- greenery.
To prepare a dish that children will definitely appreciate, you need to put finely chopped onion in a frying pan with butter and fry until golden brown. When the onions become transparent, add grated carrots to the pan. After the vegetables are fried, they add tomato paste and leave under the lid. Water is poured into the pot, after it is boiled, cubes of potatoes are added to the water and cooked for 8-10 minutes. After you need to remove the foam, salt water and add cauliflower. Let the vegetables boil for another 6-7 minutes and put the fried vegetables.
While vegetables are being cooked, small balls are formed from the prepared mince and placed in boiling broth. You need to give the soup to simmer until the meatballs are ready. At the end of the finished dish sprinkle with chopped greens.
Such a dish can be given to children after 1 year, and for the first feeding of the baby you need to use a different, but very simple recipe. This first soup should please the baby, as it will be delicious.
As the first complementary foods for cooking broth and mashed cauliflower need to take a few inflorescences and water. Put the cut inflorescences in a small saucepan and pour them with water so as to cover them completely. After boiling the vegetable is boiled for 8-10 minutes. It should be clarified that the cabbage should be fresh without dark spots. Water does not need to be salted, as a very young child will eat their first soup.
After the inflorescences become soft, they are pulled out of the vegetable broth, kneaded with a fork to a puree state, if necessary, add vegetable broth and give to the child after the soup has cooled.
Slimming soup
There is a very interesting recipe dishes, thanks to which you can reduce the number of calories consumed, which will contribute to weight loss. For the preparation of the first dish for weight loss take only fresh vegetables, which will give a feeling of fullness and enrich the body with useful components, because vegetables contain vitamins, minerals, fiber, which are so necessary for everyone. To make a slimming soup, you need to prepare the following products:
- small cauliflower head;
- celery, stem - 2 pcs .;
- carrots - 1 pc .;
- tomatoes - 2 pcs .;
- red bell peppers - 1 pc .;
- green beans - 60 g;
- bulb;
- a couple of garlic cloves;
- olive oil - 2 tbsp. spoons;
- salt, spices, fresh greens.
This soup is better to cook in a slow cooker.To do this, pour olive oil into the bowl, add carrots and onions and fry in Baking or Frying mode for 5-7 minutes, then put the rest of the vegetables, cut into slices (except tomatoes) and simmer another 10 minutes. After that, put the tomatoes, add 750 ml of water and cook in “Quenching” mode for 1 hour. Serve the finished dish with fresh herbs.
In addition to the first course, cauliflowers can be made from casseroles, stews, chops, burgers and other dishes. The inflorescences of Syrian cabbage can be fried in an egg, pre-boiled until half cooked or stewed with tomatoes. Many prepare the inflorescences of this vegetable for the winter. If desired, you can make pre-preparations and boil vegetable broth, which also freezes. In the cold season, you can quickly cook a delicious soup that will remind you of hot summer and bright sun.
How to make cauliflower cream soup, see the next video.