What can I do with cauliflower and broccoli stalks?

[notnowlater]

I have the leaves/stalks left over from one cauliflower and two heads of broccoli. I have already meal-planned until next Monday and can't really incorporate them into any of our meals, but am loathe to waste them.

Is there anything I can make with them that can be frozen? I was thinking a cheesy sauce, or soup? Or failing that, just fry them off and freeze to add to something later?

As a last resort, I am making a spinach and ricotta type cannelloni next week (but with courgettes, cream cheese and lasagne sheets!) so I will add them to that, but any other ideas gratefully received.

Bung them in the freezer til you can use them? I use them for soups, stock and stir fries.

I chop them up and cook them with the rest of the broccoli and cauliflower. They both taste good raw so you could use them for a snack?

Use for Broccoli and Stilton soup - I have a batch of stalks I’ll be using for that this week

Have them with the rest of the veg. Very nice roasted.

grate them and make coleslaw

They'll make a great soup, failing that, just slice them up and serve as a side-veg either steamed or stir-fried. I usually peel the broccoli first if I'm eating it like that though.

I heard them and add them to the mince when I cook chilli, spag bol, shepherd's pie or chip them up to use in a vegetable or chicken curry. Other than that, they go into soups.

I grate them!! I never heard them as they were whispering. 😂

Chop and stir fry

It has never occurred to me to do anything but chuck in the bin in the same way I would for banana peel or the end bit of leeks or whatever.

Yeah, I just cook with them - depending on the dish they can just go in, curry/stew/stirfry just chop them and include them.

If you're just using florets keep the stems and use them in the next day or so, or rice them, that's good.

Leave them attached to the rest, cook and eat them in the same way as the "flowery" bit. Having been brought up by a thrifty mother who had no need whatsoever of any sort of food waste bin, it always seems odd to me when people cut them off plus everyone knows broccoli stalks are the best bit

I'm planning to grate or finely diced and add to egg and quinoa muffins. They're freezable and only take 30 seconds to defrost in the microwave, so a good snack in a hurry.

Cook them in some water (not too much) add some cheese, salt and pepper, then blitz. Makes a really nice soup

I just add them to my mix of vegetables, including in curry and tuna pasta bake. I normally have such meals often enough that I don't need to freeze them so have no direct experience, but I frequently use frozen celery and that's never been a problem.

Watch yesterday’s episode of Daily Kitchen on iPlayer - they had loads of ways to use these! I’d never even considered to use them before I watched it.

Thanks for the ideas everyone.

I should have said that we'd already eaten the florets, so it was too late to add them to what I was cooking. (Plus fussy husband and 5 year old mean they often get left on the side of the plate if I do this!)

I went with soup for the cauliflower and froze it, roasted some broccoli stalks and froze them to add to stir-fry/pasta sauce another time, and saved some for coleslaw. But some great ideas for the future.

Grate over a salad.

We chopped it up and fried it before adding it to a cheese sauce. Blend it all up and it tastes lovely. Got the idea from Jamie's new cooking show.

@ouch321

I used to make that mistake too, until I learnt better 😊they are THE best bit!!

I live them sliced quite thin and fried or toasted. They're SO good!!