Tag Archives: cauliflower

Spiced cauliflower with peas

A year ago I visited “Taste of Dubai”. It was a large, full of fun and activities festival, dedicated to food, cooking and eating! It brought together restaurant and street food, music performances, cooking classes and live cooking demonstrations. You could order some nice food, relax and enjoy the music, another great way to spend the evening was to cook along with top chefs. Many world-famous and celebrity chefs were invited to the festival, and I could watch how they are preparing amazing and tasty food, and then taste it. Among many chefs was Dhruv Baker, he is known as a winner of MasterChef 2010, and I didn’t miss a chance to sign his cookbook ‘Spice’.

Honestly speaking, I’ve prepared only few recipes from his book so far. 😀 They were not spectacular as I expected: for example, “caponata” turned out as a regular eggplant stew, that I make often too – only without vinegar and olives. But I really liked this recipe made from fried cauliflower florets with peas, tomatoes and a mixture of spices. Mustard seeds, fresh ginger and cumin infuse the dish perfectly, while chilli adds a mild spiciness. The final addition of fresh coriander leaves on top and lime juice adds a beautiful touch. I served this simple but tasty cauliflower with roasted chicken.

I am curious about all new foodie things and lately, I have discovered on the Internet that the combination of cauliflower and peas is a common in Indian cuisine. I really liked this easy and healthy dish. Spices do wonders! 🙂

Spiced cauliflower with peas

Servings: 2
Time: 30min
Difficulty: very easy
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Adapted from “Spice” by Dhruv Baker.

Double the qauntity of cauliflower and peas to serve the dish as a main vegetarian course.

Ingredients

200-300g cauliflower

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp cumin seeds, crushed

1 tsp grated fresh ginger

3 small round chilli

100g frozen peas

1 large tomato, finely chopped

2-3 tsp lime juice, optional

some fresh coriander leaves, chopped

salt, white pepper to taste

Method

Wash the cauliflower and cut into small florets.
Heat the oil in a frying pan on a medium heat, add mustard seeds. As soon as the start to pop add all spices and stir for a minute.
Add cauliflower florets and stir to coat with spices. Cook on a medium-high heat for 5-6 minutes.
Add frozen peas and tomato, season to taste. Reduce heat to low-medium and cook for 20 minutes or until cauliflower is cooked.
Arrange on a serving plate, drizzle with lime juice if using and top with coriander.

Enjoy!

Fried cauliflower with peas, mustard seeds and round chilli

Cauliflower couscous with shrimps

When I saw a cauliflower couscous recipe for a first time in a food magazine I didn’t pay much attention to it and dismissed it, and made another pan of creamy cauli soup. 🙂 But when I stumbled upon similar recipes again and again, I decided to give it a chance.

I red few recipes to know how to make a cauliflower couscous: the main thing is to pulse cauliflower florets in a food processor to get tiny bits, which reminds couscous grains and then you can mix it up with any your favourite ingredients. Thus, I came up with my own recipe. Even thou, I topped cauli couscous with shrimps, you may omit it and keep totally vegetarian. Whatever you choose, this dish is full of flavour! It’s a good alternative for a regular couscous, and especially for people with gluten sensitivity. Such couscous pairs well with roasted chicken or barbecued meat as well.

And you know what, now it’s my fav way to prepare cauliflower! When I served it for a dinner my husband couldn’t guess what was that – whether pasta or couscous, but he liked it. Because it tasted divine: buttery and aromatic! 🙂

Cauliflower couscous with shrimps

Servings: 2
Time: 20mins
Difficulty: easy
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You can also try to add: chopped walnuts or pistachios, raisins, goji berries, chickpeas..

Ingredients

Cauli’couscous

cauliflower 400g

baby onion 5-7, sliced

1 garlic clove, chopped, optinal

olive oil 1 tbsp+ butter 1 tbsp, for frying

lemon juice 1 tbsp

sea salt, black&white pepper to taste

chopped mint 1 tbsp

chopped parsley 1 tbsp

olives 6-7, stoned

extra virgin olive oil, for dressing

roasted slivered or flaked almonds 2 tbsp

Shrimps

medium shrimps 10 (or more if shrimps are small), cleaned

lemon juice 2 tbsp

1/3-1/2 tsp chilli flakes, optional

1 tsp sweet paprika

freshly ground sea salt and white pepper to taste

olive oil 2 tbsp, for frying

Method

Mix up all ingredients for shrimps marinade. Put shrimps in a bowl, pour over marinade. Cover with plastic wrap and keep in a fridge at least for 1 hour.
Wash and roughly cut cauliflower. Using a food processor, blitz cauliflower until breadcrumbs/couscous size.
In a frying pan, heat oil and butter. Add whole baby onions and fry over medium heat until golden. Add cauliflower and garlic if using, fry for 10-15 minutes or until cauliflower is ready. Add lemon juice and season to taste. Stir in chopped herbs and olives.
In a separate pan heat oil and fry shrimps for 2-3 minutes on each side over medium-high heat.
Arrange cauliflower couscous on a large serving plate. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with almonds. Top with shrimps.

Enjoy!

5-star Salad

I feel very honoured that I took the 1st place in the challenge held by Angie – Thenovicegardener. This was my first time I won in food-blogging contest and hope not the last. Thank you all who stopped by my post and made comments about kulebyaka. The kulebyaka is so Russian and delicious pie, and I hope one of you will make it one day. 😉 Feel free to ask me if you have any questions about the kulebyaka preparation.

Is it Friday yet? Oh, yes! That means one more party at Thenovicegardener. Does anybody would like ‘a 5-star salad’? Why 5-star, because it looks posh and the portion is so small like from a high-class restaurant. Moreover, it’s healthy and tasty.

Actually, I made it from the cauliflower remains, when I cooked this soup. 🙂

5-star Salad

Servings: 1
Time: 10-15min
Difficulty: very easy
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Ingredients:

7-9 small cauliflower florets

1 red or yellow capsicum

1 small shallot

1 clove of garlic, smashed

1-2 tsp almonds, sliced and roasted

1/4 tsp fresh thyme leaves

1/4 tsp fresh parsley or basil, chopped

1 Tbsp olive oil + 1/3 Tbsp butter

The dressing:

1/2 tsp wholegrain mustard

1/2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp small capers

freshly ground sea salt and white pepper

In a frying pan heat the olive oil and butter. Add the onion and cook until soften but not browned for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the capsicum, garlic, thyme, and sauté for 5 minutes or until the pepper is soft and browned. You can add the cauliflower along with capsicum and sauté it too, or leave it raw. Pick out and discard the garlic.
In a small bowl or glass, combine all ingredients for the dressing and give it a good stir.
Arrange the vegetables on a serving plate, sprinkle with almonds, parsley or basil; pour over the dressing.

Enjoy!

You can also check out these recipes, using the capsicums: the salad with chickpeas and Russian stuffed capsicums.

Velvety&Luscious Cauliflower soup

Vegetables play an important role in our lives. Let’s do it more healthy and cook this velvety and creamy cauliflower soup.

Sautéing capsicum and roasted cashews is great topping to the soup, infused with spices.

! Don’t forget to adjust the level of chilli seasoning to make the soup less or more spicy. 🙂

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

1 medium head of cauliflower (600-700g/1.5 pounds),

cut into medium-size florets

1 capsicum

1+1 garlic cloves, a slightly crushed

1 small onion

1/2 Tbsp butter

1+1 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp cream cheese

100 ml single cream

100 ml vegetable broth (or water) + some warm water

3-4 Tbsp cashews, roasted and crushed

1 tsp dry basil

pinch of freshly grated nutmeg (or 1/4 tsp nutmeg powder)

2-3 tsp chilli flakes or chilli seasoning

3-4 tsp chopped parsley and/or basil

Salt&pepper

1 tsp olive oil per plate, for dressing, optionally

In a soup pot, heat 1 Tbsp of olive oil and butter. Add the onion and cook until soften but not browned for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the cauliflower and garlic, cook for 5 minutes. Pick out and discard the garlic.
Add the broth and water, season with basil, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat the oil on a frying pan, add the capsicum and garlic and sauté for 5-6 minutes. Pick out and discard the garlic.
Purée the soup until very smooth. Season with the nutmeg. Stir in the cheese and cream.
Rewarm it over medium heat (just few minutes). If necessary, add more water to thin the cauliflower soup.
Serve with capsicum on the top; sprinkle with fresh basil, parsley, chilli and cashews.
Drizzle over the olive oil, if desired.

Bon Appetit!

The soup can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.