Cauliflower Roast for Christmas - Plant based celebrations!

This recipe is a cracker for those of you celebrating a plant-based Christmas. It really is wildly delicious and super easy to make. The cauliflower goes melt in your mouth tender and soft. I first saw this recipe done by Jamie Oliver. I tweaked it slightly and decided this was going to be the main event around my Christmas table. I hope you guys enjoy it and give it a try. Whether you are eating meat or living a vegan lifestyle this recipe is a game changer and something different.

On a side note - Thank you to everyone who has supported my blog this year and for the journey so far. This coming year is going to be a great one with many changes and I cannot wait to take them on! I am going to be sharing even more of my health journey thus far in hopes of inspiring you to make the little changes in your life and your kitchen.

Merry Christmas!

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons coconut oil
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon cayanne pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 medium cauliflower head
1/2 teaspoon crushed coriander seeds
salt and pepper
400 grams cooked and peeled tomatoes
1 handful flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
50 grams chopped almonds
Zest of 1 lemon

Instructions:

Preheat oven 180°C

In a small bowl mix together all the spices and the coconut oil.
Peel the cauliflower and score the bottom into a cross shape.
Place the cauliflower in a heavy-based ovenproof pot. Using the spice/oil mix evenly cover the whole cauliflower massaging it into all the grooves. Give it a little extra love!
Sprinkle with the coriander seeds and top with salt and pepper. Close the lid and pop it into the oven for one hour.
On the hour mark take the cauliflower out of the oven. Add the tomatoes to the pot on the side of the cauliflower and pop it into the oven for a further 15-20 minutes.

Once it is golden brown remove it from the oven.
Add the parsley, almonds and lemon zest. Top with a squeeze of lemon.

Serve hot with one of my delicious sides such as maple glazed carrots!

-Melissa

I am going through a major chickpea phase at the moment. MAJOR.

Lately, I have spent a great deal of time playing with this delightful little legume also known as the garbanzo bean.

Admittedly, I have never given it its due credit. Chickpea's are packed with protein and are high in fiber.

You can add them to all sorts of meals or simply have on their own as a snack.

Over the past few weeks, I have roasted them, blended them, fried them, and well, eaten them fresh. What a treat!

The kitchen has been covered with hummus curries and all things chickpea so much so that I even started considering chickpeas as the holy grail of legumes. Thankfully, I'm an equal opportunist when it comes to pulses and legumes so there is a lot of love to go around.

I recently partnered up with Woolworths to share this incredible (and hearty) soup that was born out of the chaos of my kitchen.

This soup is unashamedly the love child of a roasted cauliflower and (roasted) chickpea and it is nothing short of perfection.

At the risk of sounding like a tag line for a coffee creamer commercial from the 80's, It boasts roasted chickpeas both inside and on top of it.

Say goodbye to the stock standard croutons of yesteryear and welcome the roasted chickpea of tomorrow!

Not only does the chickpea have better health benefits; they are able to replace less than ideal snacks and accompanyments with just as much flavour.

You can eat them solo with some grated Parmesan on! (I recommend a 3 year aged Parmesan), spice up the mundane nut bowl in your life or you can include them in salads and soups!

I feel like this blog post should come with a warning sign.

WARNING: Chickpeas are slightly addictive.

Serves 6, cook time: 1h 30m

Ingredients:

2 tins of chickpeas
2 cauliflower heads
1 ½ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon paprika
2 garlic cloves, chopped
½ an onion, chopped
3 potatoes peeled and chopped.
Olive Oil
1 liter vegetable stock
¼ cup of Parmesan
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius

Rinse and dry your chickpeas. Keep the tins separate as you are going to roast them separately.

Separate your cauliflower heads into florets.

Put your cauliflower and 1 tin of chickpeas onto a roasting tray. Drizzle with Olive oil and toss. Make sure you don’t over do the oil.

Sprinkle your cumin and paprika over and roast for 30 minutes. Tossing the tray at the 15 minutes mark.

In a large pot over a medium heat add a tablespoon of olive oil, the garlic and onion and fry until soft. Add your potatoes and fry for a further 5-10 minutes stirring often.

Once your cauliflower and chickpeas are roasted add them to your pot.

Add your last tin of chickpeas to the roasting tray, drizzle with olive oil and roast for 30 minutes, tossing them every 10 minutes or so.

Add the vegetable stock to the pot and top up with boiling water.

Let simmer for 30 minutes. Blend the soup using an immersion blender.

Add your Parmesan and stir.

Salt and pepper to taste

Remove the chickpeas from the oven. You can grate Parmesan over them and have them as a snack and serve the rest of them as a crunch to your soup.

Serve soup hot topped with chickpeas, Parmesan and black pepper.

-Melissa

*This blog post is sponsored by Woolworths all opinions are my own