Whole roasted cauliflower wih tomato broth

It is a terrible thing when the internet is exploding with tantalising recipes of whole baked cauliflower and the price shoots up to $6 per head.  So when I saw the price of cauliflowers had fallen to $1.20 a couple of weeks ago, I grabbed one.  And I knew exactly what I was going to do with it.

It was to be baked.  Well actually it was to be boiled first and then baked.  I am not confident in my oven's ability to roast vegies until they are soft inside.  Not when they are as large as a head of cauliflower.  So I eased it in to the idea but boiling the cauliflower first.  It also meant dinner came together a lot quicker.

While there are many recipes for an Indian style yoghurt paste to be rubbed over the cauliflower, I really liked Bon Apetit's idea of boiling it in a seasoned liquid.   But I preferred Jamie Oliver's tomato flavours.  Plus I have lemons and herbs in the garden which went into the mix.

I chose a rather small saucepan that just fit the cauliflower.  It didn't require as much boiling liquid as my large stockpot.  Once tender, I carefully transferred it to a roasting dish and spooned tomato over it.  I looked for a suitable serving dish and was not confident in any of my pretty dishes to withstand high oven temperatures.  So I stuck to stainless steel.
  

My cauliflower was soft enough that it just needed to crisp up around the edges.  After 20 minutes I thought to spray it with oil.  I think this helped.  Once cooked I found that the flavours of the seasoned liquid pretty much came through.  Which meant that I didn't need to make it quite so salty.  I think the 3 tsp of salt were too much and would reduce this to 1 to 2 tsp.  Otherwise I really liked it.

I served it with a moussaka that my mum had made for me.  The next day I had some at room temperature for lunch with crackers and hummus.  Then we finished the last bit by chopping it up and adding it to soup.

I am excited about how good the cauliflower tasted when cooked this way.  It is a nice light way to cook a side dish that is good enough to eat by itself.  The Bon Apetit recipe called for dipping the florets in a creamy goats cheese.  I am sure it would work in other dips or with other sauces too.

I still would love to try roasting the cauliflower from raw because it gives such a lovely flavour.  However I am really pleased with this for now, especially with all the flavour the broth imparts.  And I am delighted to be able to send it to Karen of Lavender and Lovage and Choclette of Tin and Thyme for their Cool Cauliflower Recipe Collection.

I am also sending the dish to Kimmy at Rock Your Vegan Socks for Healthy Vegan Fridays 49.

More cauliflower recipes at Green Gourmet Giraffe:
Buffalo cauliflower sourdough pizza with tofu blue cheese (v) 
Cauliflower burgers (gf v)
Cauliflower cheese
Cauliflower cheese sauce (gf, v)
Cauliflower, pea and parmesan polenta fingers (gf)
Cauliflower in spicy peanut gravy (gf, v)
Cauliflower rice with vegies (gf, v)
Celery, watercress and cauliflower salad (gf, v)
Cheesy cauliflower and rice soup (gf, v)
Lentil and cauliflower taco filling (gf, v) 
Macaroni cheese with sauerkraut, cauliflower and blue cheese (v)
Meaty cauliflower and walnut lasagne
Potato, cauliflower and kale pesto mash (gf, v)

And some cauliflower recipes from elsewhere:
Cauliflower and kale rice pie - SBS
Chocolate cauliflower brownies - A Travelling Cook
Chocolate cauliflower cake with salted cinnamon caramel icing - Veggie Desserts
Cottage pancakes - 101 Cookbooks
Creamy cauliflower and stilton cheese soup - Lavender and Lovage
Ottelenghi's cauliflower and cheese cake - Allotment 2 Kitchen
Spicy whole roasted cauliflower - Pure Wow

Whole roasted cauliflower with tomato broth
An original Green Gourmet Giraffe recipe inspired by Jamie Oliver and Bon Appetit
serves 4-6 as a side dish

1 large head of cauliflower
400g tin of diced tomatoes
3 1/2 cups of water
1/4 cup dry sherry
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1-2 tsp fine sea salt, or to taste
freshly ground black pepper
1 bayleaf
5cm spig of rosemary
sprig of thyme
oil spray for roasting
chopped parsley for garnish

Trim cauliflower of greenery and wash.  Preheat oven to 240 C.

Place remaining ingredients (except oil spray and parsley) into a large saucepan that the cauliflower fits into.  (The snugger the fit of the cauliflower, the less broth is needed for cooking.  However it does make it a bit harder to maneouvre the cooked cauliflower out.)  Taste and adjust seasonings.  I found that the taste of the broth was strongly present in the final cauliflower.  Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes until cauliflower is just tender when a skewer is pushed into the middle.

Now use large slotted spoons to carefully transfer cauliflower from the saucepan to a roasting tray or an oven proof serving dish.  Scoop a little of the tomato from the broth on top of the cauliflower.  Spray cauliflower with oil.  (Set aside the tomato broth and use as stock in soups and stews.)

Bake cauliflower for 30 minutes or until it is slightly charred.  Scatter with parsley and serve in wedges.

On the stereo:
Elastica: self titled