Roast Cauliflower with Spiced Peanut Sauce

Cauliflowers are totally in right now - seasonally and nutritionally - and I have here yet another delicious way of eating them.  In younger years I tended to avoid such things – and by things, I mean cauliflower, broccoli, brussel sprouts – like so many, school experiences of over cooked, watery veg put paid to any interest in them on my part.  These days, I’m a genuine fan.  Creamy, crisp – if cooked right – and sustaining, they lend themselves to rich, unctuous sauces – cauliflower cheese being a case in point.  This Spiced Peanut Sauce is a complete mongrel interpretation of Gado Gado, the Indonesian Peanut sauce based on a collection of mild chilli spice, with garlic and ginger undertones, made rich a combination of peanuts and coconut.  My sauce is a total cheat – using harissa and peanut butter, for shame - but no less delicious for it!

Mildly spiced, aromatic, slightly sweet, rich and creamy, I’ve been making a version of this sauce for years and it never tires.  I always serve it with a mixture of vegetables: sweet potato, squash, peas, courgettes, beans, cauliflower, spinach, fennel; nearly everything works with it.  Sometimes I cook the vegetables in the sauce and on other occasions, such as this, I’ll roast them first and then pour the sauce over, adding another layer of flavour to the dish.  If you haven’t roasted cauliflower before, don’t panic, it’s completely delicious and transforms it from the watery mess of childhood nightmares to a mellow, velvety, grown-up affair.  Serve with a bowl of brown basmati rice and the ubiquitous fresh coriander.

Normally I would make this using crunchy peanut butter, but if you have a nut allergy then you can make an alternative version using sunflower seed butter.  Bev, creator of I Bake Without, has a brilliant recipe on her site – so quick, easy and delicious –you can also buy it from health food shops, though I will tell you that Bev’s version is by far the nicest.

ROASTED CAULIFLOWER AND SWEET POTATO WITH SPICED PEANUT SAUCE

Serves 4

1 large head of cauliflower

1 sweet potato

2 large leeks

3 tbsp olive oil

For the Spiced Peanut Sauce

1 tbsp olive oil

1 heaped tbsp harissa

1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes

1 onion

2 cloves of garlic

2 tbsp peanut butter, preferably crunchy or Sunflower Seed Butter

Preheat oven to 180c.  Peel the sweet potato and cut into 1 inch chunks.  Trim the ends from the leeks, slice in half lengthways, rinse thoroughly under water to get rid of any grime and then slice into thin half moons.  Trim the leaves and base from the cauliflower and cut into even sized florets.

Lay the leeks into the base of a large roasting dish or tin.  Scatter the sweet potato and cauliflower over the top, pour over the oil, season well and roast for 40 – 45 minutes or until the potato is tender, the cauliflower golden and the leeks softened.

Meanwhile, finely chop the onion and crush the garlic.  Heat the oil in a saucepan, add the onion and garlic, season well and fry gently until soft – about 10 minutes.  Pour in the tomatoes, add the harissa and peanut butter (or sunflower butter) and simmer gently for 10 minutes.  Once the vegetables are roasted, lay out on a large platter or bowl and pour over the sauce. 

Warm Cauliflower, Pepper and Caper Salad

Despite the chilliness of the season, we’ve had our first and glorious glimpse of spring so here I am again with a salad no less.  But don’t fear, I’ve not got too ahead of myself as this is a warm salad and uses that much ignored brassica – cauliflower.  Admittedly, cauliflower cheese is the first dish that springs to mind when I think of what to do with them, it being rooted in a childhood of comfort food.  You can make a really delicious dairy-free, soy-free version by using toasted pine nuts, ground finely to add that wonderful savoury flavour of a cheese sauce.  So delicious and versatile is this sauce that you can use it for making lasagne, carbonara, moussaka and, of course, cauliflower cheese.  If you’re keen, the recipe for it is in my new book, The Intolerant Gourmet, available now! 

However, this warm Caulifower, Pepper and Caper Salad is a lighter and equally delicious way of using this seasonal veg.  The lightly cooked florets are drenched in extra virgin olive oil, rubbed with garlic and served with the sweet tang of roasted peppers and piquant capers creating a wonderful blend of flavours.  Equally, because the majority of the ingredients for this are from the store cupboard, it is a brilliantly quick and simple dish to prepare.  You can easily serve it as it is for lunch or supper, as a vegetarian main with quinoa, or use it as an accompaniment – roast chicken or lamb springs to mind.  Personally I would choose the former, that way you can tuck into a little more traditional winter fare for pudding – perhaps an Apricot Bakewell Tart or a Chocolate Brownie – with no guilt at all, you having just eaten a salad and all.

But really, don’t underestimate this as a dish, it has a delicious blend of flavours and is a lovely way to use cauliflower.  Having made this a few times now, I can tell you that the addition of crispy bacon lardons went down very well, as would a few scattered toasted pine nuts, I imagine.  However you serve it, it is a lovely simple salad to make and a great way to add a bit of vitality to your day.

WARM CAULIFLOWER, PEPPER AND CAPER SALAD

Serves 4

1 large head of cauliflower

½ jar of roasted peppers in olive oil

2 tbsp capers, rinsed

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil or use some of the oil from the jar of peppers

1 fat clove of garlic

Trim the florets from the head of cauliflower and peel the garlic.  Bring a medium sized saucepan to the boil with a pinch of salt and two bay leaves – the bay leaves stop the cauliflower from having that brassica or ‘cabbage’ smell when it is being cooked.  Add the cauliflower to the boiling water and simmer for 6 minutes or until the florets are just cooked.  Alternatively, you can steam the cauliflower.

Meanwhile, pour a little of the olive oil into a large serving bowl.  Cut the clove of garlic in half and rub the bowl with the flat sides of the garlic – this will flavour the salad without overpowering it.  Finely slice the peppers into strips and rinse the capers.  Once cooked, drain the cauliflower and tip it into the serving bowl with the garlic halves.  Pour over the remaining olive oil, add the capers and sliced peppers and toss together – the heat from cauliflower will soak up all the olive oil and garlic flavour.  Season lightly and serve while warm.