Tag: cauliflower

Gluten Free · Vegetable sides · Vegetable-related

Spicy whole roasted cauliflower

Belinda

What more do you need with this gorgeous food, than a salad?

This recipe has you slathering cauliflower in a spicy yogurt marinade and roasting it at a high temperature. The result is an amazingly delicious dish that’s as dramatic in presentation as it is easy in preparation. Serve it with a big green salad (I suggest lime juice and olive oil for the dressing) for an easy weeknight supper.

Spicy whole roasted cauliflower

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 head cauliflower
1½ cups plain Greek yogurt
1 lime, zested and juiced
2 tbsp chile powder (or less , if you don’t like spicy)
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp curry powder
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400° and lightly grease a small baking sheet with vegetable oil. Set aside.
Trim the base of the cauliflower to remove any green leaves and the woody stem.
In a medium bowl, combine the yogurt with the lime zest and juice, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, curry powder, salt and pepper.
Dunk the cauliflower into the bowl and use a brush or your hands to smear the marinade evenly over its surface. (Excess marinade can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to three days and used with meat, fish or other veggies.)
Place the cauliflower on the prepared baking sheet and roast until the surface is dry and lightly browned, 30 to 40 minutes. The marinade will make a crust on the surface of the cauliflower.
Let the cauliflower cool for 10 minutes before cutting it into wedges and serving alongside a big green salad.

Whole30 compliant

Roasted cauliflower with dates, pine nuts and prosciutto served with caper aioli

Belinda1 Comment

I am a cauliflower fanatic and just love different ways of serving it. You’ll love this briny, creamy aioli which is very easy to make, and the combination of the toasty cauliflower, sweet dates, salty prosciutto and nutty pine nuts, is divine.

 

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Serves 4
1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
4 oz pancetta or prosciutto, sliced thick and cut into 1/4 inch dice
1/2 cup pitted dates, chopped
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts or almonds
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tbsp chopped parsley leaves, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 375 F

Combine the cauliflower, prosciutto, dates, olive oil, salt and red pepper flakes in a large mixing bowl. Mix well to coat and place on a sheet pan.
Place in the top part of the oven and roast until the cauliflower is fork tender and light brown, about 30 to 40 mins. Remove from the oven, transfer to a decorative bowl and scatter with the freshly toasted pine nuts. Serve with the caper aioli on the side.

 

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Caper aioli
1 cup good quality mayonnaise
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp capers, chopped
1 tsp caper brine
1 tbsp chopped parsley leaves

Rub the inside of a decorative bowl with the garlic clove.
Put the mayonnaise, salt, olive oil, capers, caper brine and parsley in a mixing bowl and mix well together to combine. transfer to the decorative bowl and serve with the roasted cauliflower

 

 

Asian flavors · Vegetable sides

Spicy cracklin' cauliflower

Belinda

ImageI am a roasted cauliflower fanatic and this is one with lots of powerful spices. This dish can be served hot, at room temperature or even chilled the next day. So versatile and an explosion of taste in the mouth for very few calories!

Serves 4
1 large head cauliflower, cut into florets (about 6 cups)
1 cup diced red onions
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 tbsp curry powder
1/2 tbsp garam masala
1/2 tbsp fennel seeds
1/4 tsp crushed red chile flakes
2 tsp salt
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
1/2 tbsp grated lemon zest
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro

Preheat the oven to 400 F
Place the cauliflower, onions, canola oil, curry powder, garam masala, lemon zest, fennel seeds, red chile flakes, salt , garlic, ginger and pepper in a large bowl.
Toss the ingredients together and blend until each piece of cauliflower is coated with the oil and spices.
Place the mixture in a large baking pan and roast for 30 mins until the cauliflower is crisp tender, turning the cauliflower every 10 mins to cook evenly.
When done, the cauliflower should be golden brown so you might need to cook it a little more, depending on your oven.
Place the cauliflower in a large serving bowl and mix in the peas and cilantro

Gluten Free · Vegetable sides

Simple parmesan roasted cauliflower with garlic and onion.

Belinda

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Last night I didn’t feel like much to eat, certainly not any meat and as I was looking in the fridge for inspiration, I noticed a very large cauliflower lurking in the back of one of the shelves.
It was still okay, but just starting to react to the restrictive plastic wrapping and time sitting in the fridge, so I decided to turn it into nutty, cheesy slices of roasted cauliflower.
MY, was it good! I even had the leftovers straight from the fridge for breakfast.

Serves 4
Preheat the oven to 425 F
Cut 1 head of cauliflower into florets or slice straight through the whole cauliflower making 3/4 inch “steaks”.
Toss these (don’t worry if the “steaks” fall apart.) in a large bowl with 1 medium chopped onion, 4 thyme sprigs, 4 – 6 tbsp olive oil, 4 unpeeled cloves of garlic (or garlic powder to your liking) and salt and ground pepper.
Toss around gently with your hands until well coated and tip onto a baking tray, roasting and tossing occasionally until almost tender, 20 mins or so.
Grate 4 to 5 heaped tbsp parmesan cheese straight onto the 1/2 cooked cauliflower and return to the oven for another 20 mins or until they are tender when pierced with a fork and browned and crispy. Remove the thyme stalks, squeeze the garlic out of it’s peel, or leave in it’s peel and serve. The onions should be starting to blacken which gives an even nuttier flavor.

 

 

Gluten Free · Vegetable-related

Carb free, gluten free, healthy pizza with cauliflower crust

Belinda

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How good does this look? Crunchy, crispy, totally carb-free pizza!

Serves 2 to 4
½ head cauliflower (about 2 cups riced)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano

Pre-heat the oven to 400° F.
Prep a cookie sheet or pizza stone by grease it with oil. You can grease the cookie sheet or use greased aluminum foil. It will stick if you don’t grease it properly.
Remove the stems and leaves from the cauliflower and chop the florets into chunks. Add to a food processor and pulse just until the texture is similar to rice. If you don’t have a food processor you can grate the cauliflower with a cheese grater or chop it.
Sauté cauliflower “rice” in a non-stick skillet over medium heat and cook until translucent, approximately 6-8 minutes.
In a bowl combine the cooked cauliflower with all remaining ingredients.
Spread dough out evenly over the greased foil (or stone) – about ¼ to ⅓ of an inch thick. The pizza should be about 9-10 inches in diameter.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the crust is golden, crispy on the edges and cooked through the middle.
Remove the crust from the oven.
Top with pizza sauce and toppings. Be careful not to add too many heavy toppings as you don’t want to weigh down the crust.
Broil the pizza for 5 minutes, or until the toppings are hot and the cheese is melted. Allow the pizza to cool for 2-3 minutes then cut and serve. Enjoy!

 

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Appetizer Vegetarian · Appetizers

Cheesy, crispy baked cauliflower tots

Belinda1 Comment

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These are an absolute winner as a starter or a snack and even children love them, not realizing they aren’t tater tots!
This recipe makes about 24 small tots and is modified from a recipe on “Kaylin’s Kitchen” a terrific food blog.

1/2 large head cauliflower, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup sharp cheddar cheese (preferably not the packaged pre grated stuff)
1/3 cup coarsely grated parmesan cheese (again, not pre grated, preferably)
2 tbsp almond or plain flour
1/3 tsp salt
1/2 tsp your favorite seasoning blend, like Spike or Montreal etc
Freshly ground black pepper
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Preheat the oven to 400 F
Spray a mini muffin tin with non stick spray
Cut away the leaves of the cauliflower, but use most of the inner core part for the recipe.
Coarsely chop the cauliflower, place in a microwave proof bowl, cover with cling film and microwave for 2 minutes on high so that the cauliflower is slightly soft.

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Quickly take off the cling film and let the steam escape, and if you see any water in the bottom of the bowl, put the cauliflower into a colander to let the water drain off.
Put the steel blade in the food processor, add the cauliflower and pulse until the cauliflower is finely chopped but still slightly chunky. (Be careful you don’t end up with a puree!) Drain out any water from the bowl of the food processor.

 

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Put the finely chopped cauliflower into a bowl and add the grated cheese, parmesan cheese, flour, salt, seasoning blend and ground pepper.
Stir until the ingredients are really well combined. Add the egg and stir until the ingredients are mostly coated with egg. Don’t be tempted to add any more egg!
Using a “one tablespoon scoop” or a steel one-tablespoon measuring spoon to scoop out rounded spoonfuls of the mixture and place in the min muffin tin.
Bake for 15 minutes then carefully turn each tot over in the muffin tin and bake for another 15 minutes or until the tots are nicely browned on both sides.
Serve these hot and straight from the oven while they’re still crispy

 

 

Gluten Free · Vegetable sides · Vegetable-related

Whole roasted cauliflower with whipped goat and feta cheese

Belinda

Some recipes are just plain genius and this is one of them. The cauliflower cooked in this winey, punchy broth, then roasted – whole- results in a brown and crackly masterpiece, topped with a creamy tangy sauce.
You MUST try this one from Bon Appetite magazine

Serves 4 to 6

Roasted cauliflower

1 head cauliflower, whole, stem trimmed and leaves removed
2 1/2 cups dry white wine
1/3 cup olive oil plus more for serving
1/4 cup kosher salt
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp crushed red pepper flakes (or to taste)
1 tbsp sugar
1 bay leaf
Coarse sea salt for serving

Heat the oven to 475 F. Bring the wine, oil, salt, lemon juice, butter, red pepper flakes, sugar, bay leaf and 8 cups of water to the boil in a large pot.
Carefully lower in the cauliflower, reduce the heat and simmer, turning occasionally, until a knife easily inserts in to the center, 15 to 20 minutes.
Using 2 slotted spoons or a mesh strainer, transfer the cauliflower to a rimmed baking sheet or roasting pan, draining well.
Roast, rotating the pan halfway through the cooking, until brown all over, say 30 to 40 minutes.
Transfer the cauliflower to a plate.
Drizzle with oil, and sprinkle with sea salt.
Serve with the whipped goat cheese (see below for recipe)

Whipped goat cheese

4 oz fresh goat cheese
3 oz cream cheese
3 oz feta cheese
1/3 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp olive oil, plus more for serving

Blend the goat cheese, cream cheese, feta, cream and 2 tbsp olive oil in a food processor until smooth. Season with sea salt.
Transfer the whipped goat cheese to a serving bowl and drizzle with olive oil.

Note-  Whipped goat cheese can be made one day ahead. Cover and chill in the fridge

Vegetable sides · Vegetable-related

Roasted pesto, parmesan vegetable traybake

Belinda

Yesterday, I did another traybake. I was on my own so decided to cut up a whole pile of vegetables, toss them with a container of pesto sauce from Trader Joes, lots of garlic, and when they were 3/4 through with the roasting, I threw at least half a container of grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese over everything and roasted it till it was all melted and browned.
It was divine and so healthy!

Preheat oven to 350 F

Vegetables

 You can choose whatever is in your fridge, but I used;
3 leeks, sliced into 1 inch slices
1lb Brussel Sprouts, trimmed
1/2 large cauliflower broken into florets
2 large red onions, cubed into 1 “ pieces
2 Delicata squash, unpeeled and cubed into 1” pieces
2 zucchini, cut into 1 “ slices

6 large cloves garlic, crushed
1 container Trader Joes pesto sauce (8oz)
6 oz (at least) grated Parmigano Reggiano

Put all the vegetables into a very large bowl then season well and add the garlic and pesto sauce.

Mix together well with your hands and tip all the contents out onto a large baking tray with shallow sides, like the one in the picture.

Roast the vegetables for 25 mins then turn all the vegetables to avoid burning and continue to roast for another 20 minutes.
Sprinkle with plenty of grated cheese and return to oven, turning the oven up to 400F for another 15 to 20 minutes until toasty and melted.

Serve on it’s own, or with a salad

 

Pasta · Sauces

Creamy cauliflower sauce for pasta

Belinda

Who would have thought this positively sexy, creamy, velvety sauce was actually healthy and good for you? That wonderful vegetable, the cauliflower is responsible for this gorgeous sauce.

Makes about 6 cups

6 cups fresh cauliflower florets
7 – 7 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp salt, or more to taste
1/2 tsp pepper
8 large cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp butter
1/3 cup shredded Parmigiano Reggiano

Bring a large pot of chicken broth to a rolling boil.
Add the cauliflower florets and cook for about 8 to 10 minutes, or until fork-tender.
Remove the cauliflower from the pot with a slotted spoon, reserving 1 cup of the broth for blending.
While the cauliflower is cooling, saute the garlic and butter in a small skillet over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes.
Place the cauliflower, reserved broth, sauteed garlic and butter, milk, salt and Parmesan cheese to a blender.
Blend on high for 3 to 5 minutes, stopping as needed to add liquid and adjust the seasonings to your taste..
Serve hot over your favorite pasta

 
 

 

Fish · Pasta

Pasta with cauliflower and anchovies

Belinda

This is a Marcella Hazan recipe which is so simple and so flavorsome. It was brought to my attention recently by the person who served me at the Beverly Hills Cheese Store. Thank you!!

You can adjust the amount in this recipe if you’re using less than 1lb of pasta.

Serves 4

1 & 1/2 lb head of cauliflower
1/2 cup olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, peeled and chopped fine
6 flat anchovy fillets, chopped
1/4 tsp chopped red chile pepper
salt
1lb packaged penne or other pasta
2 tbsp Italian parsley, chopped

Break apart the cauliflower into florets; steam until tender, about 10 – 12 minutes.
Put the oil, garlic and chopped anchovies into a medium-sized saute pan.
Turn on the heat to medium and saute until the garlic begins to turn golden, stirring and mashing the anchovies.
Put in the cauliflower and break it up with a fork, crumbling it into peanut-sized pieces, mashing some of it into a pulp to create a sauce.
Add the hot pepper and a liberal amount of salt. Cook for a few minutes more.
Cook the pasta, place in a serving bowl and pour the sauce over it.
Toss and add the parsley.