Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Garlic & Mustard Seeds

I have been in a bit of a dinner rut lately and it seems like I’ve been drawing a blank while staring at my fridge and pantry. Stuck for new and original ideas, I often take solace in tried and tested meals. The results while flavorful and delicious seem to leave me unimpressed and jaded at meal times. I would like to blame it on a combination of the already soaring temperatures and often not finding the ingredients I set out for in Mumbai.

After a couple of weeks of uninspired meals and a lot of grumbling about a lack of ingredients it was time for a self-intervention. Post all the research on “breaking the dinner rut” I realized it was time to step back and stop looking for hard to find ingredients. I just need to pick up simple, basic, everyday ingredients and work on breathing a new life into them. That is how I created this Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Garlic & Mustard Seeds recipe.

We always have a head of cauliflower on hand that invariably it finds its way into a soup or into an Indian vegetable preparation. It is now time to transform a hearty, filling, accessible and versatile cauliflower into a glamorous and delicious side dish. When you roast a cauliflower the oven metamorphoses the vegetable, caramelizing it to tantalizing crisp brown outside while tenderizing its inside. Roasting a cauliflower brings out its inherent hint of sweetness.

In this recipe the intrinsic hint of sweetness of the cauliflower is a perfect match for 3 varied oil profiles along with some intense garlic and smoky mustard seeds. The additions of cayenne and lemon zest provide another layer of zing to the dish. Leaving the cauliflower whole creates a visual masterpiece. If the taste and visual isn’t appealing enough maybe the fact that you only need to work for 10 minutes and then the oven does all the work will appeal to you.

So join me in kicking the cooking rut and let a humble cauliflower or any other modest vegetable inspire you. With that as a blank canvas a world of dinner excitement awaits your taste buds.

Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Garlic & Mustard Seeds
Time: Active: 10 minutes Inactive: 1 hour
Yield: 3-4 side servings

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon truffle oil (optional)
1 ½ tablespoons garlic, peeled and minced
1 ½ teaspoons black mustard seeds
1 teaspoon ground cayenne or chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon lemon zest
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon parsley or chives, minced for garnish
a few lemon wedges for serving

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 220 degree C/450 degree F.
2. Remove the leaves and the core of the cauliflower, leaving the whole head in tact. Wash and completely pat dry the cauliflower. Place it in an oven safe bowl and set aside.
3. In a small bowl mix together the olive, sesame and truffle oil. Stir into this garlic, mustard seeds, chili powder, paprika, lemon zest and salt and pepper to taste.
4. Now pour the above mixture over the cauliflower head. Make sure you use your hands to nicely massage all the elements of the marinade into all the crevices of the cauliflower head.
5. Once the entire cauliflower is covered in the marinade, place it on the center of the oven and roast uncovered for 1 – 1 ¼ hour until the cauliflower has a slight brown crust and is fork tender.
6. Remove from the oven and transfer to a nice serving platter. Garnish with parsley or chives. Adjust salt and pepper per taste and serve warm along with the lemon wedges.

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