To prevent excess water leaching into the gratin, steaming is the best method to use for cooking the vegetables. Note

Simple, healthy and packed with colour and flavour, this cauliflower and green olive salad is a tasty side dish, but also makes a great, light meal all by itself.

Numerous studies have shown members of the brassica family, which includes tuscan cabbage and cauliflower, offer some protection against cancers and heart disease, as well as age-related processes. Pecorino is a hard Italian sheep’s milk cheese similar to parmesan, which may be used instead. Note

Fresh and crunchy gado gado is an Indonesian speciality. You can add shredded cooked chicken and quartered hardboiled eggs to this salad if you like.

Aloo means potato and gobi, cauliflower, to an Indian cook, but this easy-to-make dry curry means delicious in anyone's vocabulary.

A roast joint should be rested before serving to allow the meat to relax. The heat of the oven causes the meat fibres to tighten, so as meat rests the fibres will relax, allowing the meat juices to redistribute themselves throughout the joint. Try to carve the joint across the grain so that each slice has short fibres which feel tender to eat.

French for "rust", bright-orange-coloured rouille is a thickened capsicum and chilli-flavoured mayonnaise-like sauce often used stirred into, or as a garnish for, Provençal soups and stews.

This quick and tasty pasta dish is perfect for a mid-week family dinner. Wholemeal pasta is delicately tossed through a fragrant tomato, cauliflower and olive sauce to create this deliciously healthy dinner.

This cheesy, creamy baked cauliflower is comfort food at its best.

Taking the name from Baltistan, a mountainous region in northern Pakistan, balti curries often include paneer.

Cooking the pasta in boiling water for 2 minutes less than recommended on the packet directions means that it will still be quite firm. The pasta will be perfectly cooked once it has spent time in the oven. Note

The cheese and bacon toasts on the side make this rich, savoury cauliflower soup a meal all by itself but it also works as a starter for a dinner party.

Originally, ballotine was a boned leg of poultry that was stuffed with other ingredients; these days, it can mean any type of meat, fish or poultry that is boned, stuffed, rolled and tied into a bundle.

Dukkah-crusted lamb cutlets with cauliflower.

Warm your body and soul with this beautiful chicken and vegetable soup - perfect for family dinners on those cooler evenings.

Quick, tasty and filling, this cauliflower chilli spaghetti is perfect for a mid-week family dinner.

Use a mixture of cauliflower, carrots, celery, green tomatoes, cucumber and pickling onions. If the mixture seems too wet, drain away some of the liquid before bottling. Note

Crab meat can be bought already cooked from some fishmongers. Alternatively buy cooked crabs (about 600g) and remove the flesh from the shells and claws – enough to weigh 200g. Well-drained canned crab meat could be used in this recipe. Note

Derived from an Italian word meaning `garden’, giardiniera is an Italian dish of pickled vegetables. Note

Chickpea flour (besan) is available from the health food aisle of supermarkets or health food stores. Note