Cauliflower Terrine

Unlike its name cauli-Flower, the actual vegetable does not live up to its name...Or does it?

Cauliflower is grown in Britain and is available all year round. It is also relatively cheap, hence the reason I have cooked with it today (2 for £1.50). The one time you will see it gracing the tables of peoples home including mine is as cauliflower cheese bake. So why do I and many others not welcome it in our homes. Is it because of the way it looks, its anti-social emissions or its bland taste. Well I think it is all of those things, as well as being quite a boring vegetable. Please feel free to disagree with me, these are just my thoughts on the vegetable.

A little while ago I read that British cauliflower production had gone down by nearly a third in the last decade, as Brits preferred other imported vegetables. In an article, Phillip Effingham, Chairman of the Brassica Growers Association (BGA) in the U.K, an organisation behind a campaign to get us Brits to start eating more cauliflower said: 'Britain seems to have fallen out of love with the cauliflower over the last 10 years and sales have been declining steadily. We want to encourage people to rediscover this hugely versatile and healthy vegetable and help stop its decline’.
As a person who has been growing her own and trying to eat with the seasons, the cauliflower has come into my kitchen more than six times this year, which for me is highly unusual. So am I a convert? The answer is still No. I still don’t like it much, perhaps there is something ingrained deep in my psyche that refuses to love and even like this vegetable, but what I have found in favour of the cauliflower if that I have come to appreciate its versatility in cooking, and you can’t say that about its relative the broccoli .

I have eaten it roasted, boiled, steamed, pickled and raw. I have made cauliflower 'rice', cauliflower and wholegrain mustard quiche, paprika cauliflower and cauliflower, sun dried tomatoes, garlic and capers tart. Did you know that the leaves are also edible? To this day I am still experimenting with it.

Other than eating cauliflower, I have also attempted to grow my own, but as of yet have not been successful. I think I know where I am going wrong. I am not preparing the ground well. So next year I need to pick up some tips and read on how to grow cauliflower as I am tempted to try different varieties, colours (green, purple and even orange) and compare flavours.
Anyway, after all that I actually think I may have found my favourite way to eat cauliflower and it is like this, as Cauliflower Terrine. The terrine sliced beautifully too and was a good accompaniment to roast potatoes.

I am submitting this recipe into this weeks Weekend Herb Blogging#212. WHB is a weekly food blog event showcases information and recipes about herbs, vegetables, fruits and other plant ingredients. WHB was initiated 4 years ago by Kalyn's Kitchen, it is now organized by Haalo of Cook (Almost) Anything At Least Once. This weeks host is the beautiful Marillyn from Just Making Noise.
Cauliflower Terrine
Serve 4 - 6
Ingredients
1 medium Cauliflower, cut into florets
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed (optional)
75g Fresh Breadcrumbs (I used brown)
2 eggs, separated
1 generous pinch of cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons freshly chopped Parsley
150ml double cream
Salt and pepper to taste
Oil for greasing
Method
Preheat the oven to Gas mark 5. Grease a 2lb loaf tin.
Either steam or boil the cauliflower, until soft. Drain well then roughly chop. Heat oil in a large pan, add the onion, garlic and fry gently until soft and transparent. Stir in the cauliflower pieces and parsley and cook for a few minutes. Remove from the heat, add egg yolks, breadcrumbs, seasoning, cayenne pepper and cream. Stir well. Whisk the egg whites until stiff then fold them into the cauliflower mixture. Put the mixture into the greased loaf tin, cover with foil and bake in the oven for 1 hour. Eat warm or cold. I was inspired by this recipe.

Chard and potato terrine

I am one of those people who will normally come in from work and put a meal on the table, totally made from scratch. This is only possible because I don’t have too many ‘homely responsibilities’ such as relatives or small children to care for. However, this culinary hobby of mine which now and again helps me unwind from a long and busy day does sometime feel heavy, as there are days when I would rather come in and slouch on the sofa, rather than be in the kitchen weighing and measuring ingredients, afterall food is a necessity - we eat to survive.
These days I plan ahead and try to make some of our working week meals at the weekend. Then all we have to do is assemble and heat it up (I do not have a microwave). The only problem is our kitchen is small, it’s 6 foot by 4 foot. The white utilities in the kitchen reflect this too, as our fridge is too small to hold a weeks worth of cooked dinners, stored in oven-proof dishes or pots. So there are still many evenings when I come home and cook from scratch and thoroughly enjoy it. Then there are those days when I put together something simple on the table, even if that means eating home-grown vegetables sometimes accompanied by shop bought 'meat substitute' pie or a pizza, which I admit we do now and again. But not today, here is a dish I made yesterday, all that was required was heating up in the oven for 30 minutes, then served with the broccoli I picked on Saturday.

Other than the odd potato slice sliding, the terrine came out pretty much in tact. It is hard to take a decent food photograph now, especially with the darker evenings, but I took one anyway to show what the terrine looked like. D snugged his nose and said ‘your not putting that on, are you?’ I actually ummed and erred, finally deciding that I was going to. After all this is a home cooks food blog, not a professional food blog or a photography blog. I do however agree with him, that the photograph really doesn’t do the 'Chard and potato terrine' justice, as it cut beautifully and tasted rich, comforting and delightful for a chilly evening. You will just have to take my word for it.

Chard and potato terrine
Serves 4
Ingredients
Potatoes
4 Chard leaves with their stalks
2 cloves of garlic
Butter
Salt and pepper to taste
Double cream
Cheddar cheese
Method
I honestly cannot remember how many potatoes, but if I am guessing about 400g I sliced them thinly with my mandolin and shredded 4 chard leaves and stalks. I rubbed a loaf pan with butter and arranged about a third of the potatoes, sprinkled with sliced garlic, seasoning and chopped butter, then added a layer of chard. Repeat this process, until I ended up with a final potato layer and sprinkled over some grated cheddar cheese. I dotted the surface with the a little more butter then evenly poured over 140ml of double cream. Covered with foil and baked in the oven for about 1 ½ hour. Adapted from the Vegetarian Table: France

Two Tone Bean Terrine

I really wanted to love this two tone polka dot terrine, especially as it was inspired by one of my favourite vegetarian cookbooks, but was quite plain tasting. Maybe adding some sun-dried tomato paste would have given it more flavour.

The tomato paste gives the terrine that salmon pink colour. Anyway, this terrine sliced beautifully. It would be good for the buffet table or as a starter to a three course meal.

Did we eat it elegantly at the table with napkins in hand? Of course not, we took some into work and had it for lunch with some cherry tomatoes.

Two Tone French Bean Terrine
Serves 4 - 6
Ingredients

230g green beans

230g yellow beans

4 eggs

3 tablespoons of double cream

4 tablespoons of concentrated tomato puree
salt and pepper to taste

Method
Preheat oven to gas mark 4. Top and tail the beans and cook separately in salted water for about 10 minutes. Drain and allow to cool. Line a 1 lb loaf tin with baking parchment paper and arrange the green beans length ways, then top with the yellow beans.
In a mixing bowl, beat in the eggs, add the double cream and tomato paste and season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour over mixture on beans, press down so all submerged. Put loaf tin on a deep tray. Fill tray with water about two inches high and bake in oven for 30 minutes until set.

Allow to cool overnight, before slicing and serving.

Recipe adapted from Catherine Mason's Veg: Simple, stylish and seasonal vegetarian cooking