Cauliflower Pancake (Torta de Coliflor), Roasted Cauliflower Florets, Cauliflower Cakes, Escabeche Casa del Sol, Cauliflower with Ranch-Style Sauce (Coliflor en Salsa Ranchera)

For years, every spring, summer, and fall I’ve made my weekly pilgrimage to the Union Square Green Market to buy the freshest vegetables grown by local farmers in season. All winter we have been limited to root vegetables and other farm products like cheese, bread, charcuterie, organic chickens, pork, lamb and goat, and just-caught fish. We know spring is here, that the season has started, when ramps, tiny wild leeks, first come to the market. They will reign supreme for a few weeks and I’ll cook them every which way until I get sick of them and then the asparagus comes and so it goes. Every week there is more to play with and one day you might say to yourself, “I think I could be a vegetarian.” But then it’s time for cabbage and Brussels sprouts, squashes and pumpkins, Rick’s 30 varieties of potatoes, parsnips, parsley root (my favorite), and cauliflower — orange, yellow, chartreuse, and purple — but no matter how pretty, for those who don’t like it, it’s still cauliflower.

I happen to love it and prepare it in many different ways. I don’t have a recipe for the quickest and most usual way I prepare it.

Roasted Cauliflower Florets

Preheat oven to 375°F. In a large bowl, crush 3 garlic cloves with 2 teaspoons sea salt with a pestle. Add 2 tablespoons of any preferred herb or combination of herbs, finely chopped, stirring well to combine. Dribble in about ¼-½ cup extra-virgin olive oil and set aside. Separate the cauliflower into florets of uniform size and toss in the herb-oil mixture. Spread on one or two baking sheets and cook until soft and golden, about 15 minutes or desired degree of doneness.

But here are some actual tested recipes.

Cauliflower Pancake (Torta de Coliflor)

A favorite appetizer at my restaurant Zarela used to be small deep-fried tortitas (fritters) of broccoli florets in a delicate batter. They’re not something I’d cook for myself at home, but they were the inspiration for this Cauliflower Pancake (Torta de coliflor). It’s less like the American idea of a pancake than one of those southern Indian savory snacks called “uttapam,” the size of mini-pizzas. I often serve it with salsa de tomate asado.

Cauliflower Cakes

One of the most popular vegetables at Zarela were our broccoli cakes and I’ve taken to making them with different vegetables and they are all delicious. I especially like these Cauliflower Cakes that I came up with the other day.

Escabeche Casa del Sol. Photo Laurie Smith for Saveur magazine.

Escabeche Casa del Sol

There once was an excellent restaurant called La Casa del Sol in Ciudad Juarez, Chihu, across the border from El Paso, Texas, owned by our dear friends the Estavillos. During the time I lived there (1973-1983) there were no really good, more elegant restaurants in El Paso, but you could cross the border into Mexico and have a great meal. Then 9/11 came and crossing the border became a huge ordeal and we lost La Casa del Sol. They served this delicious escabeche with tortilla chips as a snack.

Cauliflower Fritters with or without cheese

At the restaurant we made these Cauliflower Fritters without the cheese but the ones you see here do have the cheese. Though they don’t look quite as good as the original and are harder to make, they are delicious

Ranch-style Sauce (Salsa Ranchera)

This sauce is wonderful with the fried cauliflower, but I use it in many other ways. It is a great accompaniment to corn fritters or any grilled fish. I use it to make a “red” version of chilaquiles with a light tomato sauce instead of a creamy tomatillo sauce. It is delicious on pasta as well.