Roasted cauliflower with cumin, coriander and almonds

method

When most people think of ways to cook cauliflower they will come up with either boiling or gratinating – I’m sure this is the same for you. It may seem strange, but cauliflower is absolutely fantastic when lightly roasted, especially with herbs, spices, cheeses or breadcrumbs. It develops a really incredible flavor that I’m well impressed by. Here’s a recipe I made up that is Indian-ish in style. But, hey, it’s not about points for authenticity – it’s about whether it’s delicious or not and I think it is! Please try this one.

Preheat your oven to 400oF. Blanch the cauliflower in salted boiling water for a couple of minutes then drain in a colander, allowing it to steam dry (you don’t want any water left in your cauliflower or it won’t roast properly). Toss it in a good glug of olive oil and the butter. In a pestle and mortar, bash your spices and chillies with a pinch of salt, then mix them with your almonds and put in a hot, dry ovenproof pan to slowly toast them. After a couple of minutes, add the cauliflower. When it gets a nice bit of color on it, add the lemon zest and juice and mix around well. Fry for about a minute longer then pop the pan into the preheated oven for about 15 minutes to crisp up.

serves: 4

ingredients

• 1 head of cauliflower, outer green leaves removed, broken into florets

• sea salt

• olive oil

• a knob of butter

• 2 teaspoons cumin seeds

• 2 teaspoons coriander
seeds

• 1–2 dried red chillies a handful of blanched
almonds, smashed zest and juice of 1 lemon