A Head of Cauliflower in Three Acts

Cauliflower and chickpea pasta; Cauliflower Agrodolce; Raw cauliflower and couscous salad

I bought a head of cauliflower the other day. It was a big one, so big in fact that I got three different meals out of it. Granted, I sometimes think I am a one-trick-pony when it comes to making an easy lunch or dinner (i.e. COVER IT IN LOADS OF HERBS AND FETA. DON’T FORGET THE DILL! ALSO PARSLEY AND A GOOD SQUEEZE OF LEMON. AND PLENTY OF SALT, duh) In fact, I could probably write a one page cookbook and just leave it at that. Buuuut, even in my single-minded approach to feeding myself and my husband (the kids are less into this approach to food- too much green, too much feta, yuk!) there is plenty of variation. This is my disclaimer that yes, some of these recipes are pretty similar, but also different enough for me to choose to share. Plus, it helps with shopping/ fridge maintenance/ food waste to use the same ingredients multiple times in a week.

Firstly, let’s take a quick minute to talk about roasted cauliflower. One of my favorite things to pick at, especially if you are not supposed to picking at it and actually need all you have for a dish- it just tastes so much better when you should not be eating it. Anyway, as with most vegetables, you want to roast it in a hot oven- 400F/200C, and give it a toss in a really generous amount of olive oil and salt, not so much that it is pooling, but you want it to get in there, otherwise it is just not going to be as delicious. Spread it on a tray with enough space between pieces, if they are too crowded they will steam which is fine, but again, not sooo delicious. Roast until it is dark-golden brown with some less colored bits (mainly the stalks) as well, about 20-30 mins. The pieces on the outside are likely going to cook faster, so once they are nicely browned, just gently give everything a little nudge around the pan to switch places. Roasted cauliflower is so good because there is a variety of texture- crunchy and soft, so no need to cook it to oblivion.

I would be perfectly happy to sit down and eat a plate of roasted cauliflower, maybe with a nice garlicky salsa verde or pesto to dip it in, but I can rarely justify doing this, though perhaps I should.

This week, I made an agrodulce cauliflower (I cannot bring myself to call it sweet and sour cauliflower, although that is of course what it is) with olives and plenty of caramelized onion, raisins and herbs, which I ate with jarred sardines and couscous. The next day I was in a hurry and didn’t have time to roast the cauliflower, so I chopped it finely, mixed it with the remaining couscous, plenty of herbs, feta and lemon for and extremely satisfying lunch, and last night I made pasta with roasted cauliflower, chickpeas, Aleppo pepper, and yes- herbs and feta!

Cauliflower Agrodulce