Fermented Cauliflower with Chilis

It seems like every article about cauliflower quotes the inimitable Mark Twain,

"Cauliflower is just broccoli with a college education."

It's a great quote. We're not sure what it means, exactly, but it's a great quote.

There's More to Cauliflower than Meets the Eye

Cauliflower does look like brains, we'll admit it. But in this recipe, it's the crunch, the salty tang, the subtle sizzle imparted by the pepper, that has us yearning for more. Never mind about it's educational levels, cauliflower has some serious lacto-bacillic street cred, when fermented in this simple 5% salt brine.

Cauliflower gets FUNKY. In a good way. And whoever said cauliflower couldn't dance? Well, they've never seen this ferment in action.

Directions

1) Prepare Your Ingredients

Wash the brain, erm, cauliflower throughly, and trim the florets off of the main stem. Pick a hot pepper of your choice, and slice it into thinest slices. 

2) Pack Your Fermentation Vessel

Toss the cauliflower and pepper together, then pack them into a jar or crock.

3) Make a salty brine to cover the vegetables.

Dissolve 1TBS sea salt (we like Celtic Sea Salt) per 1 quart of water, depending on your batch size. You will need an amount roughly half of the capacity of your jar (a 1/2 gallon jar should take about a quart of brine). 

Pour the brine over the cauliflower mix, making sure all the florets are covered with the liquid. 

4) Lid Your Vessel and Let Ferment

Place a weight on top of the cauliflower, to keep it submerged beneath the brine.

Secure the lid to your ferment, with an airlock or a specially designed lid. Let it ferment, at room temperature for anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months. Just keep it out of direct sun.

5) Taste, Share, Enjoy

Taste it after a couple of weeks to see how it is progressing. It will become progressively more tangy and funky as time passes. In a good way. When it reaches a flavor that you like, screw on a lid and store it, brine and all, in the refrigerator. Set it out on a cheese platter, and watch it spark conversation, or maybe even a little dancing.

Over to You...

It’s part of our mission here at Mountain Feed to help you make delicious, sustainable, homemade food more often. Stop by and say hello on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest. Or, as always, you can do it the old fashioned way and come by the store to speak with one of our in-house experts.