Whole Oven Roasted Cauliflower

Smokey and savoury.

Behold - One of the many ways that I am feeding my cauliflower addiction.

I have been wanting to make a whole roasted cauliflower for about a year now. I ate it when I was at a restaurant in Vermont 2 years ago and it was AMAZING.

For Christmas I bought my dad Ottolenghi's book Simple. There are 6 ways that a recipe can be SIMPLE - each letter stands for something, which I thought was a brilliant way to categorize recipes. They are:

• Short on Time

• 10 Ingredients or Less

• Made Ahead

• Pantry Staples

• Lazy

• Eazy

Knowing me, I just HAD to try a few recipes while I had the chance.

I adapted this recipe slightly; swapping out the butter and added a few spices (who can go wrong with garlic and smoked paprika?).

I had intended this to feed a few people, other than just myself - but before I knew it, I had eaten more than half...

All to say that the smokiness and the crispness of the cauliflower was way too hard to resist... So here I give you my adaptation of Ottolenghi's roasted cauliflower.

WHOLE OVEN ROASTED CAULIFLOWER

Serves 3-4

INGREDIENTS

1. 1 large cauliflower with its leaves intact

2. 45g coconut oil

3. 2 Tbsp olive oil

4. 2 tsp smoked paprika

5. 3 tsp garlic powder

6. Wedges of lemon, to serve

7. Coarse sea salt

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Lightly trim the leaves at the bottom of the cauliflower, so that about 5cm of the cauliflower head is exposed.

2. Fill a pan large enough to fit the cauliflower in salty water. Bring to a boil and carefully lower in the cauliflower exposed head down (it's ok if the base sticks out a little). Boil for 6 minutes, then transfer the cauliflower to a colander, exposed head down. Set aside for 10 minutes, to drain and cool.

3. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 375°F

4. Mix the coconut and olive oil. Place the cauliflower stem side down in a medium baking tray and spread the oil mixture over the cauliflower. Sprinkle the smoked paprika and garlic powder, and sea salt over the whole head, and roast for 1.5 – 2 hours, basting the cauliflower with the juices five or six times during cooking. The cauliflower is done when it’s super-tender and a dark golden-brown, and the leaves are crisp and charred.

5. Remove from the oven and sprinkle a little extra salt on top.

6. Serve warm and enjoy!

NOTES

It probably goes without saying - The length of cooking time will depend on the size of your cauliflower.

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