National Vegetarian Week kicks off 15 May, which provides a great opportunity to get creative in the kitchen. Vegetarians, vegans and people who are just looking to cut down on their meat consumption are always looking for great alternatives for classic dishes such as steak or a classic sunday roast. Enter: the roasted cauliflower.
Often seen as a mere side, this viral clip featuring a whole roasted cauliflower with a garlic yoghurt and drizzled with tahini and a chimichurri style sauce, has gone viral, with over 1.7 million views and 108,000 likes.
Luckily, we’ve sat down with the creator of this viral clip, professional chef and host of foodie favourite the Desert Island Dishes podcast Margie Nomura, who has shared this delicious recipe so you can impress all your friends this National Vegetarian Week and beyond.
“This dish is a perfect centrepiece for any vegetarian meal,” says Nomura. “It’s a great substitute for a cut of meat and is easy to make when you’re feeling lazy.
“When you roast a cauliflower whole it takes on this buttery, sweet but salty crust in the oven so make sure you roast it until it is soft enough for a knife to cut through.
“For the chimichurri, you won’t use all of this for the cauliflower but it keeps beautifully in the fridge for up to two weeks and is amazing served as a salad dressing or on vegetable kebabs.”
Roasted cauliflower
Ingredients:
1 medium-sized cauliflower (remove thick ugly outer leaves but leave any smaller more delicate ones)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp Maldon sea salt
For the chimichurri:
Mix together:
1 finely diced shallot
1 diced red chilli pepper
3-4 diced garlic cloves
½ cup red wine vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp red pepper flakes
½ cup finely chopped coriander
2 cups finely parsley
¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil (more oil as needed to get the right consistency – it should be runnier than a pesto, more like a heavily flavoured chunky oil)
For the garlic yoghurt:
4 heaped tablespoons of Greek yoghurt
1 clove garlic crushed
Juice of ¼ lemon
2 tbsp tahini to serve
Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 200C.
Fill a large pot of water and season well with salt and bring to a boil.
Place the cauliflower in, cover and let cook for 6-8 minutes, depending on the size. Check to see if ready by poking the stem with a knife, and then remove the cauliflower and place it on a sheet tray to steam dry for around 10 minutes.
Cover with extra virgin olive oil and season well with sea salt. Return to the oven and let roast for 45 minutes until charred and golden all over.
Remove from the oven.
Spoon some garlicky yoghurt onto a serving plate and pop the cauliflower on top. Drizzle with tahini and chimichurri.
Cut into wedges and enjoy!
