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Wednesday, January 8, 2014

[Roasted Cauliflower] Wonderful Roasted Cauliflower with capers

Even though I realized that I wouldn't ever be able to become a vegetarian a long time ago, I still do love vegetables. Vegetables taste healthy and crunchy when they are fresh, transform into a nutritious meal when they are mixed into a salad, and highlight a haute-cuisine when they accompany  the main dish. They can be a popular snack, too, can't they? :) It's really hard to discuss the merits and superiority of one preparation method over another cooking method for vegetables since I like all of them. (I know it looks very indecisive :( )


But, I can tell that one of my favourite side dishes is roasted vegetables. I may even pick roasted vegetables over French fries. When I roast carrots and parsnips, I always double the batch, because I can't ever have them enough. Same thing happens with this roasted cauliflower with capers. Even one big cauliflower head is not so big for me.

You can see my vegetable recipes here:


When I make this roasted cauliflower to garnish meat or lasagna, I switch their designated identities, at least, on my plate. For me, cauliflower comes first, then comes the meat. I would understand if you say I put the cart before the horse. But, roasted cauliflower is just one of those things that I can't get enough of. I hope you like it as much as I do. While being roasted, caper fills your kitchen with delicious smell. You will love it.

Here goes the recipe.
(adapted from Everyday food)


Ingredients
1 large heads cauliflower, cut into florets
2 tablespoons capers 
(I add an extra tablespoon to this. It tastes even better, if you like caper)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
Coarse salt
1 teaspoon oregano

Directions


 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees (200 degrees Celsius). 


2. Wash, rinse and drain/dry cauliflower florets.


3. Spread in a roasting pan or rimmed baking sheet. 


4.  Drizzle each sheet with 3 tablespoons oil; toss to combine.
This looks grotesque, doesn't it? But, this is the best way to coat every single floret with a very small amount of olive oil.

5.  Season with salt. Spread in a single layer. 


6. Roast, tossing once or twice, until cauliflower is golden brown and tender, 20 to 25 minutes. What I do is I set the timer for 10 minutes, before I  toss, and send the sheet back to the oven. I give a second toss after another 10 minutes.


7. Toss with oregano. 


8. Serve warm or at room temperature, drizzled with oil.



Roasted Cauliflower

4 comments:

  1. Roasting cauliflowers with capers is an interesting combination to me. I used to think that cauliflower and broccoli are alike, but came to realize they are very much different in terms of texture, taste, aroma and so on. I saw a recipe on tv just a couple days ago and they put ground cauliflowers in a mashed potato at the White House to make the dish extra creamy but keeping it healthy. I thought it was very clever! It's been long since I had any kind of a cauliflower dish, but your recipe and the tv channel... maybe it's a sign that I should try some!


    I have a midterm on friday, but I'm super psyched about the Aussie Open I can't concentrate! (would be a bad excuse I just don't want to study... bah.)


    -Julia

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi julia,
      is it interesting? But, their chemistry is surprisingly good. Try! :)
      As I said before, I like cauliflower, fresh, steamed, and roasted! :) Yes, cauliflower is very different from broccoli.They are even not from the same family, are they?

      How come do you have mid-term in January? Are you taking concentrated winter courses? Good luck on your exam!!!
      I am so excited about Australian Open, too, since I checked the seeded players list yesterday! I will analyze the draw when it comes out on Friday.
      It will be extremely exciting two weeks! Hooray~ :D

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  2. Oh, Cauliflower is really common here in India. People cook this veg with potatoes together when they make a type of curry. I'm not good at that way so far, I think I can follow your recipe though.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi there,
      this is a good way to eat lots of cauliflower. I like have cauliflower in my curry, too. :) It has a nice texture with curry sauce.
      Hope you like it!

      Delete