Cauliflower is a maligned vegetable but it’s very tasty at this time of year

Cauliflower is superb at this time of the year. When you go into a farm shop and see its translucent whiteness nestling in its green leaf cradle – is there anything as nice? And wouldn’t it be a shame not to put a little love into preparing it?

Cauliflower cheese is one way of livening it up. Picture the scene – a lovely roast of beef, sliced and then a big bubbling dish of golden cheese covered cauliflower arrives. When making the cheese sauce I pimp it up with a splash of Worcestershire sauce, a good dollop of Dijon mustard and buy a cheddar so mature it makes your eyes water. Sometimes I add some coarse breadcrumbs fried in butter with fresh sage added at the end to give the whole thing a bit of crunch. Cauliflower and cheese are natural bedfellows and the recipe here uses the tried and tested combination. A silky soup is made using the vegetable. If you roast the cauliflower in a hot pan first it naturally caramelises it, giving the soup an intense flavour. A slick of curry oil over the top adds a lovely spicy element. The cheese comes in the form of cheese on toast. Use a decent sourdough for the toast and in the recipe the cheese is combined with fried onion, mayo and a touch of mango chutney. Grill to golden bubbling perfection and serve with the soup.

Back in the mists of time one of the first dishes I cooked at college was a carbonade of beef. In this French classic braising steak is cooked slowly with stock, onions and ale. Back in 1980s Belfast, budgets in colleges were obviously restricted because the ale element was Harp lager. Nevertheless I loved the combination of rich meat and that yeasty touch from the beer. In the recipe here I’ve used slices of pork belly in a carbonade. Made to a similar recipe but use a local ale – we have many to choose from. Cauliflower makes an appearance again as a side dish – where it’s roasted with miso, a soy paste, honey and another toot of beer. The cauliflower is blanched in boiling water then fried with butter and finished with the miso, honey and beer. The miso adds salt, sweetness from the honey and sharpness from the beer. Scallions are added at the end and it’s great served with the soft, boozey meat.

Enjoy winter cauliflower while it’s here and by all means make a delicious cauliflower cheese. But it’s also great roasted, fried, even baked whole. Make it the star though as it really deserves it.