Recipe: Oven roasted cauliflower in olive oil, garlic, lemon juice and chilli
- The Honest Project
- Jun 10, 2015
- 2 min read
Cauliflower is one of my favourite vegetables. It is so versatile and utterly delicious. I am not a big fan of boiling cauliflower as cooking it this way leaves it too soggy and flavourless for my liking. One of my absolute favourite ways to cook cauliflower is by oven roasting it. It transforms cauliflower from a boring old soggy vegetable into a crunchy vegetable full of flavour. I will often roast a batch of cauliflower and use it over a couple of days to add a little ommph and flavour to salads. Of course for anyone who isn't a 100% plant based eater, cauliflower cooked this way would go great with meat and fish (I am guessing :)). Actually this would be really nice barbequed also, which is great as vegetarians always seem to miss out come BBQ time. Just make sure if you are bbq'ing it, not to cut the florets too small or they might fall between the BBQ grill.
Cauliflower is a cruciferous vegetable and a member of the brassica family (yes the same family as cabbage and broccoli) and so contains lots of really good nutritients and anti oxidants. It is rich in vitamin C, folic acid and potassium and a good source of fibre.
Ingredients:
1 head of cauliflower
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
Juice of half a lemon
A half inch of red chilli, finely chopped
Sea salt and pepper to season
Method:
Preheat the oven to pretty much as high as it will go, around gas mark 9 or 250 degrees celsius / 500 degres fahrenheit.
Mix the olive oil, garlic, lemon and red chilli in a bowl. Add a few grinds of black pepper and a pinch or two of sea salt. Lightly whisk the ingredients together.
Cut the cauliflower into small florets. Put the cauliflower florets in the bowl with the oil mixture and toss well to ensure the florets are fully coated.
Line a baking tray with baking parchment. Place the cauliflower florets on the baking tray and pour over any oil mixture that is left over in the bowl. Place in the over for about 20 minutes, turning the florets half way through.
This dish can be served hot or cold. For a little added texture, you may want to add some toasted pinenuts.
(P.S. It's a little over done in these photos as I left it in the oven a little too long when I made it today)
