Small stems and attached leaves surround the central stalk of the cauliflower. We separated the leaves from the stalks. We reserved the leaves for another preparation. The cauliflower stems are fickle. Tasting each stem as we sliced them gave us a greater appreciation of the qualities of the cauliflower. Some tasted bright, sweet, green, and crunchy. Some were bitter and tasted like dirt. The sweet green slices we put in the good pile. The dirt flavored stems we put in the "use later" pile. We put the sweet stems into a vacuum bag and added the liquid from a traditional batch of kimchi. We vacuum sealed the two together and let them infuse for 10 minutes. We tasted and then added a bit more salt. Our cauliflower stem kimchi was crisp and juicy. It absorbed the kimchi juices while retaining its earthy, cauliflower undertones.
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