Improving on Roasted Cauliflower

[mongo_jones]

for cauliflower frittery, appetizery, snacky goodness it is hard to beat things in the gobi manchurian family--suvir's recipe on his site is pretty good.

[SFJoe]

Roasted spiced cauliflower can be tossed in the food processor and rehydrated with cream and butter. You can then take this puree to the stove, cooking out water and substituting butter. Not healthy, but high impact when you need it.

[backstory]

actually mustard seeds and cumin is a common combination in many styles of indian cooking. you can toss them in together and wait until the mustard pops, which allows enough time for the cumin to release its flavor. sometimes the cumin is crushed along with black pepper coarsely and added to the mustard after it pops to season rasam. i like to add this to cooked angel hair pasta, sprinkle salt and a bit of sugar - yumm.

 

i toss in generous amount of oil, mustard, cumin, fennel, and fenugreek seeds and when all popping and roasting is over add 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder and pour over separated cauliflower. i also mix in potatoes, carrots, and beans cut to similar size. mix them all well, spread on a cookie sheet, sprinkle salt and roast at 350 to 400. remove pan from oven and shake and toss occasionally.

[backstory]

Not a roasting thing....but not long ago I made cauliflower fritters which were a hit. I posted a photo in the dinner party thread. Basically you steam cauliflower, then mash it up and add matzoh meal (or bread crumbs), egg, finely chopped onion if you like....fry this batter in small patties. I served them with spicy tomato jam.

 

you can also make fritters with a batter of chickpea flour.

[Daisy]

I love it roasted, sprinkled with cumin and salt. Or steamed/blanched until just tender and tossed with a salty (cauliflower seems to need a lot of salt) red wine vinaigrette and chopped parsely. This is as good at room temperature as it is warm.

 

ETA: Zuni Cafe cookbook has a pasta with spicy broccoli and cauliflower that is very,very good

[bloviatrix]

One of my favorite ways to eat roasted cauliflower is to finish it off in a saute pan and cracking eggs over it. It's best when the yolks remain runny.

[pixelchef]

Something of a flavour marriage discovery recently (which I think I invented) is to toss the cauliflower beforehand in a nice fruit olive oil and lightly dust with vanilla sugar. Vanilla and roasted cauliflower sing.

 

It's what I consider my first "signature" dish.

 

Or, split a fresh bean, scrape the seeds, and add to olive oil (or melted clarified butter/ghee) and then toss the florets in that before roasting. I like the sugar though because it helps with the caramelization and bumps up the natural sweetness that goes along with that process.

[Abbylovi]

Thanks all for your advice. I kept it simple this time, just roasting with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic. Just as Pingarina said, it tasted very much like broccoli. I look forward to branching out with some of your suggestions.

 

mongo: I couldn't find Suvir's recipe. User error, I'm sure. Any pointers on finding it?

Daisy: Yes, I've made that Zuni recipe and I love it. I should make it again soon.

[Abbylovi]

More fun with cauliflower! Yesterday I bought a purple one at the greenmarket and decided to use a Martha Stewart recipe where you throw it around in some olive oil in a pan with garlic to brown it a bit, then add some water to let it steam. Toss it in the cuisinart with some warmed milk and cream and then finish it off with grated parmesan. The resulting dish is a pleasing lavender color which gave me some ideas for Thanksgiving. My lavender-loving almost five year old niece would just love this dish.

[mongo_jones]

Thanks all for your advice. I kept it simple this time, just roasting with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic. Just as Pingarina said, it tasted very much like broccoli. I look forward to branching out with some of your suggestions.

 

mongo: I couldn't find Suvir's recipe. User error, I'm sure. Any pointers on finding it?

 

hmmm. i could swear it used to be on his site. anyway, it is very simple. take cauliflower, break into florets, coat lightly in egg/cornstarch batter, and deep fry in a large wok or pan. set aside. mince garlic (i use much more than his recipe called for). heat oil in wok, throw in garlic and very quickly a large amount of ketchup (i use an indian hot ketchup--i would suggest mixing ketchup with equal parts hot sauce). mix up and then throw the florets back in. toss to coat and serve hot. a huge hit every time i've served it.

[Abbylovi]

Thank ya.

[Merlin]

 

Devi's Manchurian Cauliflower

 

I use the "Jim Dixon" method for roasting cauliflower. Instead of seperating into florets, I slice the whole cored head (vertically) into 1/2 inch thick slices and toss with EVOO, S & P. Quicker to prep and to cook. Only takes 15-20 min at 425 to be nicely caramelized. It's addictive!

[mongo_jones]

i wish suvir would lay off this kind of stuff:

 

According to Suvir, it's closely associated with the Chinatown in Calcutta, where it's sold on the street, to be eaten off toothpicks.

[Merlin]

i wish suvir would lay off this kind of stuff:

 

According to Suvir, it's closely associated with the Chinatown in Calcutta, where it's sold on the street, to be eaten off toothpicks.

 

Please share what's wrong with it? Educate me!

[mongo_jones]

my entire extended family is from calcutta. i have yet to see people eating anything off toothpicks on the streets of calcutta (leave alone in tangra, which is an area known for its tanneries). nor have i ever seen any "chinese" street-food other than very greasy "chow mein" and fried rice. but i'll be in calcutta in a week--i can check again, and if i'm wrong i'll be happy to eat my hat off a toothpick.