The roasted whole cauliflower craze, as announced by the NY Times, was started in Israel by celebrity chef Eyal Shani. It’s an easy yet impressive way to serve the modest vegetable.
Serve the cauliflower with dukkah, an Egyptian spice mix and nut mix, for an extra texture and flavor (a recipe for dukkah included below.)
Whole roasted cauliflower in dukkah
Course: Appetizers, Israeli, VegetablesCuisine: IsraeliDifficulty: medium4
servings25
minutes30
minutesToasted hazelnuts are available at Trader Joe’s, or toast them yourself in a 350 degrees oven for 15-20 minutes, depending how dark you want them (I prefer to get the hazelnuts to a pretty darkish color.) Let cool completely before using. If they have their skin on, roll then between your hands to remove it.
INGREDIENTS
1 whole medium-size young cauliflower
1 tablespoon turmeric
2 tablespoons kosher salt
About 3 tablespoons olive oil
- For the dukkah
⅓ cup sesame seeds
2 tablespoons coriander seeds
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
½ cup toasted hazelnuts (see note above)
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Remove most of the leaves from the cauliflower, and cut the bottom to make sure it can stand straight.
- Fill a tall pot with 2 quarts of water and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Add turmeric and kosher salt, then the cauliflower, leaves up. Bring to boil and continue to cook for 5-7 minutes longer, to fork tender. Drain and let cool in a colander for 10 minutes.
- Put olive oil on your hands and gently cover the whole cauliflower. You may need gloves if the cauliflower is too hot (OK, you can use a brush too). Place in a baking dish lined with parchment paper and bake until the top turns golden brown, about 30 minutes.
- In the meantime prepare the dukkah. Toast sesame seeds with coriander, cumin and fennel seeds in a skillet over medium heat for about 4 minutes, until fragrant. Transfer to a spice grinder or a blender, add hazelnut, black pepper and salt and pulse until medium grind. Dukkah keeps in a sealed container for a few weeks.
- Serve cauliflower straight from the oven with a nice sprinkle of dukkah, plus more dukkah on the side. Use a knife or a spoon to separate the florets.
