This recipe from Jamie Oliver is sure to become a firm favourite of ours.  Whilst we are not vegan or vegetarian, it is really nice to have a meat/fish free meal occasionally.   This one really ticked all the boxes and the aroma in the kitchen whilst cooking was superb.

INGREDIENTS:

4 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
½ small bunch of fresh thyme
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 lemon, zest and juice
1 large cauliflower, with outer leaves left on
4 tablespoons dry sherry
1 x 400g tin plum tomatoes
40g flaked almonds
½ bunch of fresh parsley
Extra virgin olive oil

METHOD:

Peel the garlic, then add to a pestle and mortar with the paprika and half the thyme leaves. Bash well to a rough paste then mix in 2 tablespoons of olive oil and season.

Cauliflower rubbed with paprika paste and ready for roasting

Trim the outer cauliflower leaves.   Trim away and discard the stalk so the cauliflower can sit flat, then cut a cross into the base. Make sure it can fit into your covered casserole. Rub all over with the paprika paste then place in a casserole pan. Drizzle over the sherry and squeeze the lemon juice on top. Cover and pop in a 180° oven for around 1 hour 20 minutes, or until tender. Remove the lid for the final 20 minutes.

Take the pan out of the oven and pour in the plum tomatoes, tearing or slicing them up into chunks. Sprinkle over the lemon zest and the remaining thyme leaves. Return the pan to the oven for a further ten minutes, or until the cauliflower is golden and the tomatoes piping hot.

Meanwhile, toast the almond flakes in a dry fry pan over a medium-low heat.

Once ready, take the pan out of the oven. Toss over the toasted almonds and scatter with the parsley. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil then carve up.

Roasted Cauliflower

I popped the finished cauliflower on a carving dish and found that it sliced beautifully.  The flavour of Red Carmargue rice really complimented the dish and it made a very tasty dinner.  This dish would also work well as part of a larger spread.