For many of us, cauliflower ended up in one of two drawers: boiled in salted water or drowned in béchamel. With the start of autumn it is once again the star of the market basket, even though it's around almost all year - and the cooler months are a good chance to get it out of those two roles. Its biggest advantage is that it changes texture: broken into florets and roasted, it turns soft inside and golden at the edges; finely chopped and well squeezed, it can become a pizza base; cut into thick slices with the stem attached, it's served as a vegetable steak.

How to choose one. Look for a firm head, heavy for its size, with tightly packed florets. The leaves should be bright green, with no soft patches or dark spots. For steaks, pick a large cauliflower with a wide, well-formed stem; for pizza, smaller heads or florets left over from other cooking will do.

1. Roasted cauliflower with curry and coconut milk (45 minutes, serves two). You need: 1 large cauliflower, 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 1 teaspoon curry powder and half a teaspoon each of turmeric, ground cumin and garam masala, a little cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper. For the cream: 200 ml coconut milk, 1 garlic clove, a piece of fresh ginger, half a teaspoon of curry powder, juice of half a lime and salt. To finish: 2 tablespoons plain yoghurt, 80 grams roasted spiced chickpeas, fresh coriander, lime zest and, if you like, toasted pita.

Heat the oven to 200 degrees, top and bottom heat. Mix the spices, add the florets, three tablespoons of oil, salt and pepper, and toss until every floret is coated. Spread them on a baking tray lined with paper, without crowding, and roast for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring once halfway. In a pan, on the remaining tablespoon of oil, sauté the finely chopped garlic and grated ginger for a minute without letting them brown, add the curry powder, then the coconut milk, season with salt and simmer for five minutes over medium heat. Take off the heat and add the lime juice. Spread the cream on a plate, top with the roasted cauliflower, then the yoghurt, chickpeas, lime zest and coriander. The trick is in the tray: if the florets are too close together, they'll release steam and stew instead of browning.

2. Pizza with a cauliflower base, roasted vegetables and mozzarella (55 minutes, serves two). For the base: 500 grams cauliflower, 1 egg, 40 grams grated Parmesan, 1 tablespoon flour, a little dried oregano, salt and pepper. For the topping: half a courgette, half an aubergine, half a red and half a green pepper, half a red onion, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 80 grams tomato sauce, 125 grams mozzarella, dried thyme, a few basil leaves, salt and pepper.

Blitz the cauliflower in a blender until it looks like couscous, cover it and microwave for five minutes. Let it cool a little, tip it into a clean tea towel, wrap it up and squeeze with all your strength - this is the whole secret. Mix it with the egg, Parmesan, flour, oregano, salt and pepper and press it into a compact circle of about 26 centimetres on a lined tray. Bake at 200 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges brown and the surface firms up. Meanwhile, roast the vegetables, cut into small pieces, on another tray with oil, thyme, salt and pepper for 18 to 20 minutes. Spread the base thinly with sauce, scatter the vegetables without overloading it, add the well-drained mozzarella and bake for another 8 to 10 minutes. Before serving, let it rest for five minutes and garnish with basil. Don't expect bakery dough - the base is more delicate, but it holds its shape if the cauliflower really is dry.

3. Cauliflower steak with rosemary and garlic butter (40 minutes, serves two). You need: 1 large cauliflower, 3 tablespoons olive oil, 30 grams butter, 2 to 3 garlic cloves, a sprig of fresh rosemary, 30 grams grated Parmesan, half a teaspoon sweet paprika, a little hot paprika if you like, juice of half a lemon, salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Heat the oven to 200 degrees. Remove the outer leaves but leave the stem. Stand the cauliflower upright and cut two slices about 3 centimetres thick from the middle; save the florets that fall away for another dish. In a wide pan, heat a tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat and fry the steaks for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, turning them with a wide spatula so they don't break. Transfer them to a tray, brush with the remaining oil mixed with the paprika, season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with some of the rosemary and roast for 18 to 22 minutes - they're done when a knife slides easily into the stem. Add the Parmesan in the last five minutes. Over low heat, melt the butter, sauté the finely chopped garlic for a minute or two without letting it burn, add the rest of the rosemary and take off the heat. Serve with the garlic butter and a few drops of lemon. Only the slices that include part of the stem stay whole - which is why you only get two.

Cauliflower keeps best whole and unwashed, in the vegetable drawer of the fridge; separate the florets only just before cooking. Roasted, it lasts up to two days in a closed container; to bring back the crunch, reheat it in the oven or an air fryer, not the microwave. And one rule that applies to all three recipes: dry it well after washing. Excess water is the enemy of a golden crust - the vegetable will steam in its own moisture. One head of cauliflower, three different dinners. How many years did we sentence it to béchamel?