roasted masala cauliflower

this is an adventurous summer recipe w/ lots of spice.  on first approach, it may look intimidating, but once you’ve gathered the ingredients, assembling, mixing and roasting is a snap and produces a delightfully flavored dish.  for a typical East Indian meal marrying spicy, sweet and cool flavors, we paired ours w/ coconut rice and cucumber salad (recipes below).  with a clear hour ahead of you, put the rice on, turn on the oven and prep the cauliflower dish. once the masala cauliflower is in the oven, prepare the sliced cucumber dish.  the rice and cauliflower will finish together, serve promptly and enjoy!

btw:  this recipe easily doubles and the roasted masala cauliflower leftovers are fantastic in an egg scramble!

roasted masala cauliflower

1 head cauliflower -florets (small chunks with minimal stem)

1 cup onion -diced

1/4 cup olive oil

2-3 cloves garlic -minced

1 tbl freshly grated ginger

1/2 tbl lemon zest (zest is made by finely grating the yellow layer of a lemon peel, organic is best)

1/2 tbl fennel seeds

1/2 tbl garam masala

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, or 1 fresh cayenne pepper -remove seeds, chop

1/2 tbl yellow curry powder

2 tbl parsley -fresh, chopped

1/2 cup shelled peas or green beans chopped to 1/2” pieces (optional)

preheat oven to 400 degrees.  in a bowl mix olive oil, onion, garlic, ginger, lemon zest, red pepper flakes, fennel seeds, garam masala and yellow curry.  add the cauliflower florets and mix until thoroughly coated.  dump into a roasting pan (cookie sheet w/ sides) and place in the oven.  cook for 25-30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.  remove from oven, place in a serving dish and mix in the parsley and green beans.  serve over a bed of rice. 

*this recipe is  modified from The Organic Cooks Bible, by Jeff Cox.

coconut rice

2 cups brown rice

4 cups coconut water

1 tsp salt

1 tbl butter (or coconut oil)

melt butter in a sauce pan on medium heat, add salt and rice stirring often until rice begins to brown.  add coconut water, bring to boil then put on a lid and simmer for 50 minutes (do not remove lid).  turn off the heat and let the rice sit w/ the lid on for another 10 minutes. remove from heat and fluff w/ a fork before serving.

cucumber salad

1 cucumber - thinly sliced

sea salt

fresh ground pepper

2-4 tbl plain yogurt.

assemble the cucumbers on a plate, sprinkle w/ sea salt and fresh ground pepper. drizzle the yogurt over the top and let sit for 20 minutes or so before serving.