What's in Season?: Cauliflower is an under-rated March staple

Whether roasted, fried, or made in a stew, you can't go wrong with cauliflower

Cauliflower: the name derives from the Italian cavolfiore, meaning "cabbage flower". The more you know!

Whole roast spiced cauliflower in the airfryer

recipe by:Colm O'Gorman

A showstopping main for a vegetarian feast, cooked in your trusty air fryer

Servings

2

Preparation Time

 5 mins

Cooking Time

 35 mins

Total Time

 40 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Indian

Ingredients

• 1 whole cauliflower

• 40g butter

• 30ml extra virgin olive oil

• 1 tsp turmeric powder

• 1 tsp ground cumin

• ½ tsp chilli powder

• 1 tsp flaky sea salt 

• 200g Greek yoghurt

• ½ tsp flaky sea salt

• Juice of a lime

• 1 nugget stem ginger

• To serve:

• Some roasted flaked almonds

• Chopped flat leaf parsley

Method

1. Trim away all the leaves from your head of cauliflower and cut away the centre of the stalk. Do this carefully to avoid cutting off any of the florets. You want to end up with a concave shape about 2cm deep in the bottom of the stalk which will help ensure your cauliflower cooks through properly. Wash it under a running tap.

2. Melt the butter in your microwave and add the olive oil, all the spices and a teaspoon of flaky sea salt. Stir to combine. If you are using fine salt, use half that amount. I always flaky salt in this recipe though as it gives lovely bits of flaky salt in the crust of the roasted cauliflower which are just delicious.

3. Place the cauliflower on a microwave proof plate or dish and pour over the spices. Use a pastry brush to work all the butter mixture into the head of cauliflower, making sure none of the florets are left bare. Pop the plate into the microwave and cook on full power for twelve minutes for smaller head of cauliflower, or fourteen to fifteen for a larger head. It is done in the microwave when you can slide a sharp knife into the centre and feel just a bit of resistance. It should not be soft all the way through though, you want to retain a little bite as it has yet to roast in your air fryer.

4. Transfer the cauliflower to the basket of your air fryer or a metal roasting tray that can fit in the fryer. Pour over all the juices that will have collected on the plate from the microwave, basting the cauliflower well.

5. Pop the tray into the air fryer and cook for twenty minutes at 180°C.

6. Time now to make your whipped yogurt sauce. For the best flavour use full fat yoghurt for this sauce, you can use non-fat if you must, but it will lack the creaminess of full fat Greek yoghurt. Add half a teaspoon of flaky sea slat and the juice of a lime. Use a balloon whisk to beat the yoghurt until the lime juice is combined and you have a lovely smooth, creamy texture. Finely cop the stem ginger and add that to the yoghurt, just use a spoon to mix it through well. You could use fresh ginger in this if you wish but I find it a little harsh for this sauce, I much prefer the sweetness of stem ginger. Set aside the yoghurt sauce until you are ready to serve.

7. Toast about two tablespoons of flaked almonds in a dry pan until they are lightly golden. The almonds will add some crunch and texture to the dish and work beautiful with the flavour of the cauliflower. Chop a little flat leaf parsley for garnish. Remove the cauliflower from your air fryer when it is done. Transfer it to a large plate or serving platter and scatter the almonds and parsley on top. Serve a generous wedge of the cauliflower per person, with the yoghurt sauce on the side. 

Roast Cauliflower with Tahini and Zhug

recipe by:Colm O'Gorman

Have this as a vegetarian main course or serve it with my Harissa Chicken or any other of my Middle Eastern dishes - you will find all of those recipes on ieFood!

Servings

2

Preparation Time

 25 mins

Cooking Time

 50 mins

Total Time

 1 hours 15 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Middle Eastern

Ingredients

• Cauliflower

• 1 head of cauliflower

• 2 tbsp Olive oil

• 1 tsp cumin

• 1 tsp ground coriander

• 1 tsp sumac

• Juice of half a lemon

• Flaky sea salt to season

• 6-8 cherry tomatoes

• Tahini sauce

• 125g tahini

• 3 cloves garlic

• 50 ml of fresh lemon juice

• Pinch of sea salt

• Pinch of ground cumin

• 1 tsp honey

• 1-2 ice cubes

• Zhug

• 2 green chillies

• 2 cloves garlic

• ¼ tsp ground cumin

• ¼ tsp ground coriander

• ¼ tsp salt

• Juice of half a lemon

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• To serve

• Fresh chopped coriander and/or flat leaf parsley

• Fresh pomegranate seeds

Method

1. Trim all the leaves from the cauliflower and cut away the bottom of the stalk to leave a flat base. Wash and dry the cauliflower and stand it on a microwave prove plate or dish. Mix together the cumin, coriander and sumac. Drizzle about a tablespoon of olive oil over the cauliflower, using a pastry brush to work it in and cover as much of the surface as possible. Squeeze over the juice of half a lemon and scatter the mixed spices over the surface of the cauliflower, spreading them as evenly as possible.

2. Microwave on full power for twelve minutes. Check to see if the cauliflower is cooked through by sliding a skewer or small sharp knife into the centre. If the knife slides though easily, it is done. This will obviously depend upon the size of the head of cauliflower, so if it needs more time, pop it back in into the microwave for another three minutes and then check it again.

3. Once it is done in the microwave, drizzle over another tablespoon of olive oil, and sprinkle over some flaky sea salt. Transfer the cauliflower to an air fryer or preheated oven and roast it at 180 Celsius for twenty or until it is golden and toasted all over. This will take a little longer in an oven than in an air fryer; you will need to allow thirty minutes if using an oven.

4. While the cauliflower is roasting, make your sauces.

5. To make the tahini sauce, peel and roughly chop the garlic. Add that and the lemon juice to a blender and blitz for a minute. Next, add the tahini, cumin, coriander, and salt and blitz to combine everything well. At this stage you will likely find that the tahini seizes up and the mixture is very thick. Add an ice cube or two and blitz them in. If the sauce is still a little thick, you can add a few tablespoons of cold water and blitz that in until you have a very creamy, smooth sauce with a easy pouring consistency.

6. To make the zhuk, wash and remove the tops of the chillies. I like my chilli sauce to have some punch, so I leave the stalks and seeds in the chillies. Discard those if you want a milder sauce. Roughly chop the chillies and put them into a small food processor or blender, I use my Nutribullet for this which works perfectly for portions of this size. Peel and roughly chop the garlic, and add to the blender. Wash and add the herbs, along with the spices, salt, lemon juice and olive oil. Blitz to a smooth sauce and set aside.

7. When the cauliflower is almost done, roast the cherry tomatoes in the air fryer or oven on a separate tray until they are soft and just about popping out of their skins. They will need about five minutes to roast perfectly.

8. When the Cauliflower is roasted and golden all over, remove it from the roasting dish and place it on a serving platter. Roughly chop some fresh coriander or flat leaf parsley and prepare some fresh pomegranate seeds. Arrange the roasted tomatoes around the base of the cauliflower. Spoon generous amounts of the tahini sauce over the top of the cauliflower. Now spoon over some of the zhug. Add lots of pomegranate seeds and finish with the fresh chopped herbs.