I have not liked vegetables for as long as I can remember but last week I was on a flight to Orlando and I was hungry. I looked over the meals that were offer and I had decided on a BBQ Cheeseburger but when the flight attendant showed up with the food cart, he informed me that they were only given 4 burgers and they went quick my only options was a cheese snack plate or the Vegetarian Lasagna.
I was quite leary of ordering the Lasagna but as hungry as I was I felt it was my best option. [NOTE: Something I learned the airline does not do cash transactions, you need to upload a card to the app so you can have in-flight transactions like purchasing food or services like wifi] I tried to give the flight attendant cash for the meal but he said it was ok and gave me the meal which I was so grateful.
So, I opened the box which was quite hot and the Lasagna was steaming and I could smell the aroma of the Bolognese sauce and it made my stomach really growl. After I finished the Lasagna I could not detect where the califlower was in the meal and this meal certainly turned my head into investigating more about califlower.
My question for this post: Since I am trying to get more vegetables into my diet and I have heard that mashed califlower is very similar to mashed potatoes. Can anyone tell me how close is the mashed califlower is compared to mashed potatoes?
Also how is califlower used in a Lasagna? I found small white chunks in the bolognese sauce but wondered if the califlower was used also another way.
I also took photo of the menu showing the Vegetarian Lasagna with its price and details of the meal along with what I actually received.
by Mysterious_Jury_7995
15 Comments
Hope it doesn’t have rennet
Edit: specifically animal rennet
Cauliflower tastes like cauliflower, whether you mash it or rice it or use it as pizza dough. Amazingly versatile, but mashed cauliflower will not taste like mashed potatoes, so if you go in with that expectation, you will be disappointed. It’s also a lot less starchy so the mash won’t be as creamy. If you want to try it, I’d suggest just adding boiled cauliflower to the potatoes before mashing, maybe like a 1:3 ratio.
In the pasta sauce, it was probably just finely diced and added to the sauce for texture and flavor. They may have pureed some into the béchamel, but I doubt it, as this was a vegetarian meal, not an attempt at sneaking veggies into a meal for a picky toddler.
But also, cauliflower is awesome, you should try out different ways to prepare it and give it a chance on its own. Roasted is great, boiled with breadcrumbs fried in butter, or as a salad, boiled and cooled to room temperature with a simple vinaigrette. Or with a cheese sauce like Mac and cheese.
Check out cauliflower rice if you’re not familiar. Lots of supermarkets have it in the frozen section so it’s an easy to make rice substitute for any kind of dish you’d serve rice with.
I just want to comment on your “I don’t like vegetables”. There are so many vegetables with differing flavors and textures. You probably don’t dislike them all (as you recently learned with cauliflower). Many people who say they don’t like vegetables have likely been served vegetables that are prepared in unappetizing ways.
I would encourage you to try a few more vegetables. Carrots are delicious and versatile, and also inexpensive so easy to try out. Raw with some dip or peanut butter. Roasted with olive oil and salt. Boiled then blended to make a soup. Shredded into all sorts of sauces. These are just a few basic ideas. Look for raw carrots that are smaller and thinner, those tend to be the nicest, IMO. Avoid the really huge carrots, those tend to be woody and less flavorful. Those “baby” carrots in a bag are okay raw, but awful cooked (IMO).
I had an amazing cauliflower bolognese a few months back. I personally love cauliflower but in the bolognese you couldn’t even tell it was cauliflower. So you could probably recreate the sauce you liked with sneaking that cauliflower into a bolognese.
I once made a vegan Sheppards pie with half potato and half cauliflower for the mash. You could not tell the difference, it was impressive! I suggest maybe trying this if you want a subtle but effective way to sneak in cauliflower!
“I have not liked vegetables for as long as I can remember”
Like…all of them?
How does one go through their life entirely avoiding vegetables?
Phwew! I was really worried you were going to complain about the quality of the airline food versus the picture for a moment.
Cauliflower is just very neutral and can be used in a wide range of applications as many have mentioned here.
Mash your cauliflower into the potatoes. The texture and flavor will be something you’re used to and you’ll still get your veggies.
Idk what your reasoning for not like veg is but if it’s a texture thing, you can try a supplement powder like Enof. https://a.co/d/dzXyNFT
The cauliflower will pick up the taste from the seasonings and other items in the food. Roast first with Italian seasoning, then puree with butter and Parmesan for a creamy ‘mashed potato’ like dish.
The best mashed potato sub is mashed potato squash. It is a white acorn squash with no sweetness in its flesh. I grew some last year, they are easy to grow. You roast them then dig out the flesh and mash it, then add whatever you like.
So I’m a vegetarian keto for the past 5 years, so I often replace carbs with veggies: cauliflower, broccoli and zucchini.
My biggest trick with all cauliflower(and veggie) replacements is NOT to cook it as much as recommended, otherwise they turn mushy/gummy/pasty. Plus drain the water as soon as the “sitting time” is over. A few suggestions for you to try:
I buy the Birds Eye sour cream and chives cauliflower mash. To make the cauli-mash more like potato mash, I thicken it (and make it taste better) by adding sour cream until it reaches the consistency I like 🙂
I buy ALL the green giant riced cauliflower blends and again “undercook it” by about 1-2min (depending on the power of your microwave). Then again drain the water once the “sitting time” is over; this allows the texture to remain.
The great thing about Cauliflower is that it ABSORBS all the flavor of what it is mixed with.
So with GG’s mushroom & asparagus riced cauliflower mix IF I want it to be Greek/Mediterranean style: I add olive oil, salt, feta, chickpeas, Kalamata olives, marinated artichoke hearts, cucumbers, etc.
If I want it to be Italian style: I add sliced cherry tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, olive oil, black olives, spinach, basil, sun dried tomatoes, capers, etc.
These are my go-to meals 🙂 AND because I fill it with so much “extras” I always have leftovers. P.S. it tastes even BETTER when it sits in the fridge for a day 🙂
I hope this helps you feel more adventurous about trying out cauliflower and other veggies 🙂
Very interesting.
https://preview.redd.it/odwfx97sisde1.jpeg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cee0304e4200f7f1c25ec03deefdc0d4946d103c
Bolognese is a red sauce with minced meat. Since this is a vegetarian version, the cauliflower is used to simulate the texture of the meat you would find in a traditional bolognese.
I used to be the same I only liked peas and carrots every other vegetable was horrible to me as a kid in the 80s.
Turned out my mum used to boil the life out off all the vegetables because that’s how my dad likes it. 😅
Sorry I digressed, cauliflower is a versatile vegetable, but it won’t taste of anything but cauliflower (unless you use herbs and spices so much that you can’t taste it).
Not sure on where you are located but you can always try mixing cauli with potato when mashing, swede is also great mashed.