We love to indulge in the bounty of fall/winter vegetables…like cauliflower! If you think about it, it really is an exotic-looking food…a cloud of white “flowers” in a ring of silver-green. And some varieties are purple or the color of cheddar cheese! Here’s a super-healthy recipe for cauliflower that is now our favorite.
We love cauliflower as a simple side dish, just boiled (don’t overcook!) and topped with butter and tarragon. But we really love the following irresistible roasted version. So tasty, so nutritious…did we mention “tasty”?
Cherry-Roasted Cauliflower
1 head cauliflower, florets cut into one-half-inch-thick slices from top to stem, so that the pieces lie flat
1 Tablespoon olive oil
3 Tablespoons lemon juice
4 Tablespoons roughly chopped dried cherries
½ teaspoon salt (to taste)
Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
1. Place an oven rack on the middle shelf of the oven, and preheat the oven to 350°F. On a sheet pan, spread the cauliflower in a single layer.
2. In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, lemon juice, cherries, salt and pepper and mix until well blended. Drizzle the cauliflower with the mixture, and bake for 25 minutes, until the cauliflower is tender. Halfway through the cooking process, turn the cauliflower. Some of the smaller pieces may cook more quickly…watch them carefully to avoid burning.
3. Remove the cauliflower from the oven, making sure to scrape up all the bits. Transfer to a dish and serve.
Makes two servings as an entrée or four servings as a side.
Thanks to The Healing Kitchen by Stephen Sinatra, MD, and Jim Healthy with recipes by Rebecca Bent (Bottom Line Books) for the above recipe. Buy the book here.
