Lemon Roasted Cauliflower

Roasted cauliflower is my go-to, no fail veggie side dish. In fact, I love it so much, I will sit there happily eating an entire bowl all. by. myself.  No guilt.  This dish is open to variations. I've been wanting to incorporate anchovies into the mixture and I think capers plus the juice would go well.  I've tried adding the lemon juice and found that I don't enjoy the overly tangy flavor it brings out in the cauliflower.  I like them slightly crispy and salty.

Roasted Cauliflower

Serves 4 as a side

1 head of cauliflower

3 garlic cloves (smashed)

1/4 cup olive oil (I use just under a 1/4 cup)

Generous pinch of salt and pepper

Zest of half a lemon

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Break the cauliflower into florets, wash and thoroughly dry. Place on a baking sheet. 

2.  In a bowl, I like to smash the garlic with a fork - if you don't like garlic much, only use one or two. Mix together with the lemon zest and the olive oil. If you like a more pungent lemon flavor - zest the whole thing. Pour over the cauliflower on a baking sheet. Using tongs or your hands, make sure each is evenly coated. Sprinkle a good amount of salt and pepper.

3. Bake for 20 minutes or until the cauliflower starts to brown.  Those tiny florets that are just a little extra crispy?  Don't toss them, they are the best part!  Best served warm but I won't lie. I've eaten these cold from the fridge as a snack!

Home Comfort: Creamy Cauliflower Soup

Wow, so sorry for the lack of posts in over a month.  Had a very busy month and found I barely cooked full meals, which meant I had boiled dumplings, heated totinos pizzas or mac and cheese. 

Back to this post.  I had started this post a while ago and never had time to finish it. It's hot in Texas so the thought of soup isn't incredibly appealing but after reading Pioneer Woman's post of one of her favorite recipes, cauliflower soup, I was willing to reconsider.  Granted, I made this dish about a  month ago when we did not have the 100 degree weather.... I love cauliflower but not in soup - my go to recipe for cauliflower is to simply roast it in the oven with garlic, olive oil and S&P.  This soup was hearty - definitely not healthy with the cream - and a nice change from the roasted veggies.  Hooray for cream! 

As for the recipe, I changed it quite a bit.  Cut down on the butter significantly and omitted the entire step for the roux.  I just added the cream directly into the pot with the stock.  And, I added a lot more veggies and cut down the milk and stock.  I added in some additional herbs and omitted the parsley.  Also, I have to admit that this makes a ton of soup (even after I cut down on the stock) and while I hate throwing away left-overs, I found it hard to eat night after night. After the third night of having some for lunch or dinner each day, I just had to say, no more!

Creamy Cauliflower Soup

Adapted from Pioneer Woman

2 tbspn butter

1 onion, chopped

3 medium sized carrots, chopped

3 stalks of celery, chopped

3 garlic cloves, finely minced

1 cauliflower head, cut into small bunches

3 cups chicken stock

1/2 cup cream

Pinch of dried thyme

Pinch of dried oregano

3 bay leaves

1. In a large pot, melt the butter and add the onions until they become transparent on medium heat.  Add the carrots and celery.  I let it cook for a good 5 minutes.  I add in the garlic here and let it quickly cook until you can slightly smell it. 

2. Next, add in the cauliflower - don't worry, your pot will be overwhelmed but they will cook down. Cook for 15 minutes covered on low heat.

3. Bring up the heat again and pour in the chicken stock and cream.  Let it boil and then reduce to low heat again.  Add in the dried oregano, thyme and bay leaves.  Let it simmer and thicken for about 15-20 minutes.  Taste and add S&P as necessary - or more dried herbs as needed. 

Roasted Cauliflower and Onion Tart

You may have noticed my previous posts have consisted more of restaurant reviews rather than recipes.  After some work and then have a broken fridge for over a week, I was SO happy to be able to eat in.  I have quite a few meals I've cooked up this past week so I'm going to do my best to get posted. 

Now, on to the tart!  Surprisingly, I've never made a savory tart before.  My tart experiences have consisted of sweet apples, berries and almond!  This recipe is from one of my favorite blogs, Smitten Kitchen, and the roasted cauliflower basically called my name.  I love roasted cauliflower. Why? It's simple, healthy, fast and delicious!  I secretly jumped for joy when I realized that I had too much roasted cauliflower to put in my tart and meant that I could have something to munch on while the tart baked. Hooray!

I didn't have the ingredients to make my own tart but I think the store bought pie dough was good enough.  I would not pre-bake the tart (like I did) as I think the crust was too overcooked by the time it was done.

Also, for the ingredients, I like to let them sit out for an hour at least so they soften and get to room temperature - like the marscapone cheese, whipping cream, eggs and cheese.

Roasted Cauliflower and Onion Tart

Serves 6

Click here for the ingredients since I didn't do anything different than omit the Guyere cheese.

1.  Slice up the onions and put some olive oil in the pan.  Let the onions cook on medium-low heat and let it cook for roughly 20-25 minutes until it's all golden like the below picture.   

2. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.  Wash and break up a small head of cauliflower.  Pat dry and lay out on a sheet pan.  Coat with olive oil, salt and pepper. I like to wear gloves when tossing so my hands do have a slimy texture afterwards. Cook for 15-20 minutes (flip half way through) until they are nicely roasted like the below picture.  (Note, use this same process for when you simply want to make roasted veggies for dinner.)

3. Mix together the heavy cream, marscapone cheese and eggs.  Add a dash of pepper.  Mix thoroughly (it will be a tad chunky) and then add in the cheese.  I omitted the Guyere cheese per SK's recipe.   

5. Put the pie crust into a 9-in tart pan or a normal pan with a removable bottom.  In this recipe, I pre-cooked the crust but I'd advise you not to since it was a tad overcooked in my opinion.  Spread dijon mustard on the bottom and then layer the onions over that. 

6. Add in the roasted cauliflower on top.  If you were lucky like me, there were leftovers that I was able to eat while this sucker was cooking! :)

7. Next, pour the egg and cream mixture on top.  It fix just perfectly :) 

8. Cook for 40 minutes until it's firm to the touch and looks like the below.  Be careful and don't cut into it right away.  Let it cool for a good 10 minutes.  Slice like pie and serve with any other side of veggies!