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How to prepare cauliflower for batch cooking [Article]

Posted by Pascal Landshoeft

Jan 26, 2020 10:53:26 AM

How to prepare cauliflower for batch cooking

How to prepare cauliflower for batch cooking

 
This is an overview of how to get your kitchen ready, unpack the cauliflower, cut it into pieces, and two different ways of preparation of cauliflower for batch cooking. If you want the full recipes you can download them for free via the batch cooking page.
 
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How to prepare the kitchen for batch cooking

 
These are some tips on how to get your kitchen ready for a big batch cook. At first, you might think that this is overkill, but these little tips are the result of 2 years of trial and error. You will be faster with this bit of preparation.
 
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Prepare your surface 

 
While you might think there is not a lot going on in this picture it is actually a system that helps me to be fast and clean. Admittedly I have the advantage of having a kitchen island. If you have space, make a trip to IKEA. The kitchen island in the picture was 400 Euro and my expectations around a kitchen island were more towards €1000. Of course, if you live in Malibu or New York this is beneath you, but then you won’t cook yourself anyway. A kitchen island is worth it especially when you cook a lot. Otherwise, these principles apply to any surface in your kitchen.  
 
Get all of your bowls to the left of your surface. Make sure they are empty and clean. This is where all of your prepared ingredients will go. Leave the ingredients in storage. When we started batch cooking we got it all out on the surfaces which clogged up the kitchen. Avoid that. Get the ingredients out per step, put them on the chopping board and place them in a bowl to the top of the surface. 
 
Set your chopping board up in the middle. Just like the TomTom of a drummer, this is your central workspace. Have a bowl to the right of the board ready to dispose of anything that will not go in your food. These can be kernels, vegetable skins, and potato peel depending on what you are making. 
 
Put a fresh cleaning cloth to the right of your setup. Fold it up and make it flush with the corners of the kitchen island or surface you are using. Be disciplined about this. You will use this cloth after each preparation step to clean the surface. This will save time. Believe me clean as you go is faster than cleaning up the mess at the end. I got this little trick from Fred’s visit to the Mugaritz in San Sebastián on BBC two. 
 
The last item is a chef's knife. It is worth investing ina good one as this is the only knife you will need for batch cooking. My wife does not really like it when I use the big knife for peeling, but it less washing up to do and less hassle. Just keep the knife clean during the process of batch cooking.
 
 
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Prepare the sink

 
The sink can turn into a problem during cooking. To keep everything clean I wash the knife and the chopping board after each step of preparation. To avoid flooding around the sink I put a tea towel right beside the sink to dry both down and also soak up any excess water. 
 
Not in the picture to the right is a little bin for biodegradables. This is where I drop the leftovers from the chopping when the bowl on the kitchen island filled up. Repeat these steps during the batch cook to keep the area clean. 
 
The last important item is the hand wash beside the sink. Wash your hands after each step of preparation, especially when you have handed meat. This will keep the food clean and healthy. When you are cooking for the entire family for an entire week this aspect becomes even more important than just for yourself. 
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Have a tea towel on your apron

 
Get a tea towel with a little loop like shown above. This way you can attach it to your apron when you are working. With this setup, you always have a towel ready to lift a hot pot, wipe away something you have spilled or dry your hands between steps. All of this preparation will pay off at the later stages of the batch cook. 
 
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Put on an apron

 
You can also wear old clothes. Cooking in your good clothes with a nice apron will put you in the right mindset. This way you will be focused and ready for the task. It also makes you feel a little more like a chef and a little less like someone who just has to finish a mundane task for the week. 
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Hang the recipes above the stove

 
Whatever cooking station you have, get the recipes to the wall on top of it. Use a bit of tape or blu tac to put them on the wall. Avoid leaving them on a surface as you will put something on them or spill something. This way you can recycle them more often. Cooking with your phone or tablet might work, but puts your precious gadget at peril. I usually keep my phone in my apron as a timer and emergency backup in case anything goes wrong. It also helps with music. 
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Get your music ready

 
The batch cooks I do usually take about 3 - 4 hours each. The yield is food for 1 - 2 weeks depending on how it goes. For this time I like to listen to music. The earphones from bose I use have been with me for several years and never let me down. Personally, I do not listen to the radio as we have dogs and people go in and out of the kitchen to do their own thing. This is the best solution for me. 
 
How to unpack cauliflower

Unpack the cauliflower

 
Depending on how it came to your house you want to get the cauliflower out of its packaging. There is no need to wash it at this stage as you will remove most of the outer layers anyway. You ultimately want the florets for most recipes. Some will keep the trunk and the leaves for vegetable soups. That depends on taste and style. We usually throw the excess leaves out. 
 
How to remove the leaves from a cauliflower for batch cooking

Remove the leaves

 
Removing the leaves is best done by hand. It is quicker than with a knife and less error-prone. The end result is a cauliflower head without leaves like the one above. The trunk is still on and needs to be removed. At this stage, you can use the knife to cut away the trunk. 
How to cut a cauliflower for batch cooking

Wash the cauliflower

 
Once the trunk and the leaves are removed you can move on to wash the cauliflower. Most of what you see will land in your food so try to keep it clean.  After you cleaned the cauliflower you can cut it in half and then remove the trunk in the middle. From there you can peel it easy with your hands into florets. YOu can half and quarter the biggest florets so that all of the cauliflower pieces will take a similar time to be cooked. In case you want to make cauliflower rice, keep the cauliflower as a whole and grate it. I personally prefer the ready-made cauliflower rice for batch cooking.

Topics: Batch cook