Exploring the different sides of cauliflower, with 13 recipes

Like broccoli, its kissing cousin, cauliflower has two distinct personalities. Cook it quickly and you’ll see its aggressive, brassy side; it’s a vegetable that you can pair with all sorts of big flavors — garlic, capers, chiles, anchovies. Cook it slowly and you won’t believe how sweet and mellow it becomes, with a hint of something that smells very much like white truffles.

Also similar to broccoli, cauliflower can now be found in a wide range of types. It’s not just that beige brain-like thing anymore. You can find tiny cauliflower heads in orange, lime-green and even purple. And unlike some strangely tinted vegetables, the color will hold through cooking.

One thing you ought to try — roasting cauliflower. It’s easy to do with the individual florets (line a sheet pan with aluminum foil; add the florets and toss with olive oil, salt and minced garlic; roast at 400 degrees until tender, about 25 to 30 minutes).

PHOTOS: 13 recipes for cooking cauliflower

Or if you want to be trendy, you can try those suddenly popular cauliflower steaks (carefully slice each head into 4 pieces, saute on one side in a hot skillet and when it browns, flip it and finish in a 400-degree oven until it’s tender, about 15 to 20 minutes).

How to choose: Select heads that are a pale creamy color (for white cauliflower), avoid any that show dark “sunburned” areas. Though cauliflower looks hardy, it is actually extremely perishable and any dark or soft spots will start to break down almost immediately.

How to store: Because cauliflower is highly perishable, keep it tightly wrapped in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator and cook it as soon as you can.

How to prepare: You can easily separate the florets from the stalk by cutting around the base of the stalk with a sharp knife. Don’t toss the stalk — it’s got great flavor too; just cut it into cubes or slices so it will cook at the same rate as the florets.