And lets' face it, write-ups dedicated to vegetables sometimes elicit certain amounts of unexcitement, (bear with me, vegan stalwarts, I shall redeem myself towards conclusion) that too when a significant amount of time goes into prepping the subject of choice. What with fragmenting florets from stalk and cauliflower shrapnel invading every square inch of corner kitchen, is it a fallacy that not a single BFMK page is dedicated to the head sized flower food?
Not that I'm averse to cauliflower recipes. I actually enjoy them. But when it involves a tailoring process longer than the actual cooking time, it seems illogical to me in spending the half day
As a result of additional websearching it was no surprise to find a treasure trove of The Uncut, whole cauliflower heads roasted in varied flavor composites, each in their own way good, doable and just so laborsavingly commendable. This broad spectacle had me realize that some things, including food groups, are so much better, and way prettier when they are not tampered with as much as they are existingly set out to be.
The quick brushing of oil, savory pastes and powders assist in awakening our c. heart roast, making you a believer of how grand this veggie can be. Oven heat, combined with marinade render for outer crispiness and sears in the fantastic taste that weaves its way into the very core. Unbroken, bronzed cauliflower is quite the Beautiful One, and has my heart stop for more than a few beats. At this point, I smile. And smell the flower.
And go ahead, have it sing to your own tune. Feel like tandoori? Mixup pre made masala, seasonings and yogurt, spread/ smother onto the crown and make it an ode to your favorite Indian restaurant. Some thyme/sage, and it swaps in for this year's Thanksgiving roast (turkey lovers, kindly disregard the blasphemy). Perhaps cancel the night's takeout with a Chinese-esque soy/ginger/sesame glaze. There's ample room to transform and mold today's blueprint, astounding yourself with each new discovery.
Finally, I tried it soon after with an accompanying almost-gravy, a sidecar of sautéed onions, garlic, chili and a few tomatoes. That, combined with a dip of cilantro yogurt transcended the remarkable to unbearably fantastic.
Chili cauliflower is of the uberspectacular genre, one that has you reconsider each and every misconception of working with this veg's floretfilled head.
There you have it, the true confession of a recovering sloth fragmenter and c. flower phobe.
Ingredients:
- cooking spray
- 1 whole cauliflower, cleaned and trimmed of leaves and thick stem
- 4 tbsp canola oil
- 2 tsp garlic paste
- 1 tsp ginger paste
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp cayenne pepper
- 2-3 tbsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp black pepper
- salt
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375° F. Oil a foil lined baking sheet with cooking spray/ or cooking oil.
- Combine ingredients from 3 tbsp oil to salt in a small bowl.
- Using your brush or hands smear the head of cauliflower with this mixture.
- Place the cauliflower on the prepared baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes, until slightly browned on surface.
- At this point, take large foil and lightly tent the cauliflower for the remaining 20-30 minutes or until soft when pressed with fork and top is well browned and crusted.
- Allow to cool for 10 minutes before cutting. Serve as wedges with cilantro yogurt and/or white rice.
Notes~
You may wish not to foil- tent if you like the cauliflower well browned with darkened crust.
Cilantro yogurt is nothing but 1 cup yogurt, 2 tbsp finely minced cilantro leaves, salt pepper. Whip together these and serve alongside your roast. Recipe is also found at the end of this post.
I've been neglecting these glances to the past.
But we''ll overlook this misstep on my part and take it from here.
This time, last year ~
******Romans 8:18
"The sufferings we have now are nothing compared to the great glory that will be shown to us."(NCV)
