Cauliflower with cumin
Cauliflower with cumin
“I think this is the best way to eat cauliflower, diet or no diet” (Nigella, p418).
It’s funny how the thought of one foodstuff can lead to the thought of another…and another…and another. When I saw that the next recipe was cauliflower with cumin, I tried hard to think of what to serve it with. I don’t know about you, but to me it seems an Indian-inspired dish. Particularly, it reminds me of Nigella’s Aloo Gobi in Feast. I mentioned this to Chris and he suggested that we make a curry on Saturday to accompany the cauliflower, and from then on in we were insatiable; constantly thinking of more and more foods which would be perfect with the meal. Therefore, this is our Saturday night meal; read it and weep!
Popadoms with a yoghurt, cucumber and mint raita and a lime pickle and onion bhajis and vegetable samosas to start, followed by a chicken bhuna with basmati and wild rice, accompanied by mango chutney and cauliflower with cumin and mango and chilli nan bread. All of this was washed down with a cold Tiger beer or two! Phew!
The cauliflower section was very short indeed (only 2 recipes), but nonetheless I have rather enjoyed it. Certainly, I am now reminded how much I enjoy cauliflower cheese. However, if I think about it carefully, aside from cauliflower cheese, I am a bit stomped as to what else to do with cauliflower. Certainly it can be boiled; but anyone who reads this blog is probably under no illusions about my distaste for boiled vegetables. I am therefore looking forward to another way of trying this vegetable, particularly, as I am resolved to incorporate cauliflower into my cooking more.
I am especially looking forward to this particular recipe. A while ago, a Nigella.com forummer mentioned how nice this recipe was, and I was reminded of this recently when I turned to the cauliflower section. Not only this, but I also really like cumin. I hadn’t had a lot of experience using cumin until I brought it a few months ago to use in Nigella’s South Beach black bean soup. Since then, we have been using the cumin rather a lot. Christopher, in particular, dusts a combination of smoked paprika and some ground cumin over our pork chops and any meat that we happen to use in curries. So, I know that I like cumin and I hope soon to adore cauliflower. Also, I have Jamie Oliver’s Cooking with Jamie and he has a recipe for roasted cauliflower with cumin, coriander and almonds, of which he says “It may seem strange, but cauliflower is absolutely fantastic when lightly roasted, especially with herbs, spices, cheeses or breadcrumbs. It develops a really incredible flavour that I’m well impressed by” (Jamie Oliver, p342). It seems as though, therefore, cauliflower and cumin may be a really successful culinary combination.
Also, Nigella doesn’t mention anything about quantities, but I should think that one head of cauliflower florets would be more than enough for the two of us. Certainly we won’t be left hungry!
Ingredients: The only ingredients needed for this recipe are cauliflower and ground cumin and these are found pretty much anywhere; even our local corner shop sells both of the ingredients. I brought my cauliflower from Tescos, and I made sure that it was organic; reasoning that in such a recipe the quality of the cauliflower is probably very noticeable.
Price: The cauliflower totalled £1.69. I had no need to purchase the ground cumin, because, as I have already mentioned, I had some left over from that needed for the South Beach black bean soup recipe.
“I think this is the best way to eat cauliflower, diet or no diet” (Nigella, p418).
It’s funny how the thought of one foodstuff can lead to the thought of another…and another…and another. When I saw that the next recipe was cauliflower with cumin, I tried hard to think of what to serve it with. I don’t know about you, but to me it seems an Indian-inspired dish. Particularly, it reminds me of Nigella’s Aloo Gobi in Feast. I mentioned this to Chris and he suggested that we make a curry on Saturday to accompany the cauliflower, and from then on in we were insatiable; constantly thinking of more and more foods which would be perfect with the meal. Therefore, this is our Saturday night meal; read it and weep!
Popadoms with a yoghurt, cucumber and mint raita and a lime pickle and onion bhajis and vegetable samosas to start, followed by a chicken bhuna with basmati and wild rice, accompanied by mango chutney and cauliflower with cumin and mango and chilli nan bread. All of this was washed down with a cold Tiger beer or two! Phew!
The cauliflower section was very short indeed (only 2 recipes), but nonetheless I have rather enjoyed it. Certainly, I am now reminded how much I enjoy cauliflower cheese. However, if I think about it carefully, aside from cauliflower cheese, I am a bit stomped as to what else to do with cauliflower. Certainly it can be boiled; but anyone who reads this blog is probably under no illusions about my distaste for boiled vegetables. I am therefore looking forward to another way of trying this vegetable, particularly, as I am resolved to incorporate cauliflower into my cooking more.
I am especially looking forward to this particular recipe. A while ago, a Nigella.com forummer mentioned how nice this recipe was, and I was reminded of this recently when I turned to the cauliflower section. Not only this, but I also really like cumin. I hadn’t had a lot of experience using cumin until I brought it a few months ago to use in Nigella’s South Beach black bean soup. Since then, we have been using the cumin rather a lot. Christopher, in particular, dusts a combination of smoked paprika and some ground cumin over our pork chops and any meat that we happen to use in curries. So, I know that I like cumin and I hope soon to adore cauliflower. Also, I have Jamie Oliver’s Cooking with Jamie and he has a recipe for roasted cauliflower with cumin, coriander and almonds, of which he says “It may seem strange, but cauliflower is absolutely fantastic when lightly roasted, especially with herbs, spices, cheeses or breadcrumbs. It develops a really incredible flavour that I’m well impressed by” (Jamie Oliver, p342). It seems as though, therefore, cauliflower and cumin may be a really successful culinary combination.
Also, Nigella doesn’t mention anything about quantities, but I should think that one head of cauliflower florets would be more than enough for the two of us. Certainly we won’t be left hungry!
Ingredients: The only ingredients needed for this recipe are cauliflower and ground cumin and these are found pretty much anywhere; even our local corner shop sells both of the ingredients. I brought my cauliflower from Tescos, and I made sure that it was organic; reasoning that in such a recipe the quality of the cauliflower is probably very noticeable.
Price: The cauliflower totalled £1.69. I had no need to purchase the ground cumin, because, as I have already mentioned, I had some left over from that needed for the South Beach black bean soup recipe.
(Head of cauliflower, broken into florets).
Method: Well, this is so easy to make; it takes 25 minutes tops. I broke one cauliflower into medium-sized florets, turned the florets out onto a roasting tray, dusted thoroughly with ground cumin (if I were to measure, I expect it would have been about 3-4 tablespoons of the stuff), and placed in a blisteringly hot oven for 20 minutes. I did find, though, that mine needed slightly longer than 20 minutes; I wanted them to be slightly charred (as suggested in HTE), and so I waited an extra 5 minutes to achieve that look.
There is absolutely nothing more to say; this is so easy that it can be made in a matter of minutes (even, I would expect, for a weekday lunch).
There is absolutely nothing more to say; this is so easy that it can be made in a matter of minutes (even, I would expect, for a weekday lunch).
(Cauliflower dusted in cumin; pre-oven).
Result: After 25 minutes I finally got that look that I was hoping for. The cauliflower was a burnished gold, charred in some places and was blanketed in delightful-smelling ground cumin. In fact, the cauliflower smelled absolutely fantastic. I don’t know about you, but I absolutely love the smell of ground cumin. To me, it is the smell of spiced, pungent, aromatic, strong and heady curries; yum! Usually when I use ground cumin though in cooking, the smell becomes dampened somewhat; not in this recipe; the cauliflower smells fantastically strong and perfumed.
If you are anything like me, and always looking for new ways to eat vegetables, then you will be pleased to know that this recipe tastes absolutely fantastic. It really works wonders on the humble cauliflower and I absolutely adored it. Personally, I thought that the cauliflower was 100% better for being roasted. It was crisp, firm and cooked perfectly. No one could accuse it of being in the slightest over or under done. Jamie Oliver is absolutely right; roasting this vegetable does give it an absolutely intense flavour. Instead of tasting watery, boiled and “dummed-down”, the cauliflower tasted emphatically of itself; it tasted alive and really intense and absolutely incredible. The cauliflower was also absolutely superb with the cumin. The cumin could really be tasted in every bite and it gave the cauliflower a really deep, rich spiciness. The spice is also wonderful with the cauliflower. I’m not sure if it would have worked as well with another vegetable. Broccoli, for example, has too much of its own unique flavour to work in partnership with a strong spice. However, cauliflower has a terrific deep background flavour which works well as a platform for other flavours to really make their mark. In fact, it really seems to me as though that spice and this vegetable are designed to be eaten together.
I suppose that the real indicator of how much I liked the cauliflower lied in the amount that I ate. Because we were eating a veritable Indian feast, it will inevitably be the case that I won’t have enough room in my stomach to eat everything on my plate, and consequently only the nicest foodstuffs would be eaten all up! It is a real testament to the deliciousness of this recipe, then, that both Chris and I ate all of the florets on our plates.
May I also say now that this cauliflower was lovely as an accompaniment to the Indian-inspired Feast that we laid out? I was right to follow my instincts with this dish; its deep spiciness really lent itself well to the robust spiciness of the whole meal. Therefore, if you do want to try this, but are not sure quite what to eat it with; may I suggest a nice curry?
If you are anything like me, and always looking for new ways to eat vegetables, then you will be pleased to know that this recipe tastes absolutely fantastic. It really works wonders on the humble cauliflower and I absolutely adored it. Personally, I thought that the cauliflower was 100% better for being roasted. It was crisp, firm and cooked perfectly. No one could accuse it of being in the slightest over or under done. Jamie Oliver is absolutely right; roasting this vegetable does give it an absolutely intense flavour. Instead of tasting watery, boiled and “dummed-down”, the cauliflower tasted emphatically of itself; it tasted alive and really intense and absolutely incredible. The cauliflower was also absolutely superb with the cumin. The cumin could really be tasted in every bite and it gave the cauliflower a really deep, rich spiciness. The spice is also wonderful with the cauliflower. I’m not sure if it would have worked as well with another vegetable. Broccoli, for example, has too much of its own unique flavour to work in partnership with a strong spice. However, cauliflower has a terrific deep background flavour which works well as a platform for other flavours to really make their mark. In fact, it really seems to me as though that spice and this vegetable are designed to be eaten together.
I suppose that the real indicator of how much I liked the cauliflower lied in the amount that I ate. Because we were eating a veritable Indian feast, it will inevitably be the case that I won’t have enough room in my stomach to eat everything on my plate, and consequently only the nicest foodstuffs would be eaten all up! It is a real testament to the deliciousness of this recipe, then, that both Chris and I ate all of the florets on our plates.
May I also say now that this cauliflower was lovely as an accompaniment to the Indian-inspired Feast that we laid out? I was right to follow my instincts with this dish; its deep spiciness really lent itself well to the robust spiciness of the whole meal. Therefore, if you do want to try this, but are not sure quite what to eat it with; may I suggest a nice curry?
(Post-oven 1).
(Post-oven 2).
Other person’s perspective: Chris said, and I quote, “I love this. He said that he loved the spiced smell of the cauliflower, which is reminiscent of curries. The cauliflower itself was lovely and he now swears that he will *never* be eating boiled cauliflower again, but will always roast it in future. The roasting method meant that one could taste the cauliflower itself properly and it went brilliant with the whole meal.
Chris said that this was well worth making again as part of an Indian meal, or as part of a Sunday roast.
Future changes: It is difficult to think of anything to change with this recipe, because it is so nice as it is. Certainly, when I make this again, I am not planning on changing a thing.
Chris said that this was well worth making again as part of an Indian meal, or as part of a Sunday roast.
Future changes: It is difficult to think of anything to change with this recipe, because it is so nice as it is. Certainly, when I make this again, I am not planning on changing a thing.
(Close-up)
Rating: 5/5; Both Christopher and I agree.
Cauliflower section: I have actually rather enjoyed this section. Certainly, I will be cooking with cauliflower again. If I was to choose only one recipe to make again, it would be this; the cauliflower with cumin and Christopher agrees.
Labels: Cauliflower
