fbpx

Roasted spiced cauliflower with caramelised garlic yoghurt

As far as impressive side dishes go, this is pretty up there! Whole roasted cauliflower looks so impressive on a festive table, and it goes well with a wide range of other dishes.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Course Side Dish
Servings 6 as a side
Diabetic, Gluten Free

Ingredients
  

  • olive oil for cooking
  • 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • zest of 1 lemon zest
  • 1 cauliflower (large whole head)
  • lemon juice of ½

Caramelised garlic yoghurt sauce

  • 1 bulb garlic unpeeled
  • 1 cup Greek yoghurt

To serve

  • ¼ cup sliced almonds lightly toasted chopped
  • ½ cup pomegranate seeds
  • ¼ cup flat-leaf parsley or coriander chopped

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 220°C. Mix 2 Tbsp of oil, spices, salt and zest into a paste. Cut top off garlic bulb to expose the cloves. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and wrap loosely in tinfoil.
  • Bring a full kettle of water to the boil. Trim stalk on cauliflower so it will stand upright with a flat base. Keep the leaves on if you can (as they go nice and crispy). Place cauliflower upright in a colander and pour boiling water all over to lightly blanch it.
  • Pat cauliflower dry with paper towels. Use a large, sharp knife to cut cauliflower in half from the top down through the stalk. Place both halves in a roasting dish (cut-side up) and rub all over with spice paste. Drizzle generously with olive oil and squeeze over lemon juice. Place garlic bulb parcel in the roasting dish.
  • Roast for about 50 minutes or until cauliflower is a deep, charred, golden colour. Turn over halfway through to give both sides a chance to brown.
  • Carefully squeeze caramelised garlic out of the skins without burning yourself (using paper towels helps), into a bowl. Mash garlic, mix in yoghurt and season to taste with salt and pepper.
  • To serve, spread a generous amount of garlic yoghurt over a serving plate and place cauliflower halves on top. Dollop over a little more garlic yoghurt and scatter with almonds, pomegranate seeds and coriander or parsley.

Mix it up:

  • You can turn this dish into more of a salad by cutting the cauliflower up into florets, tossing with spice paste and roasting (without blanching) for about 30 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, arrange on a platter and scatter with remaining ingredients. Serve drizzled with garlic yoghurt.

Notes

This would be a great dish to bring to a potluck, as you could prepare it in advance and serve room temperature. You can turn this dish into more of a salad by cutting the cauliflower up into florets, tossing with spice paste and roasting (without blanching) for about 30 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, arrange on a platter and scatter with remaining ingredients. Serve drizzled with garlic yoghurt.
You could easily make this dish vegan and dairy-free by using coconut yoghurt instead of Greek.
This recipe is from a story in the December/January issue of NADIA magazine all about Christmas side dishes.