Cauliflowers available in the UK all year round and I love finding different ways to cook them. The humble cauliflower is often overlooked and I think the reason most people are a bit uninspired by them are because they’ve only ever eaten them overboiled and a bit smelly, or covered in cheese sauce to hide the flavour! This is a fresh and tasty version, and it was inspired by a recipe in Omar Allibhoy’s Spanish Made Easy cook book.
Ingredients served 3 as a side or 4 as tapas
- 1 cauliflower head, cut into florets with a few nice outer leaves reserved
- Splash milk
- 3 cloves garlic sliced
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3 tbsp capers drained and washed
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- ½ tsp sweet paprika
- Splash sherry vinegar
Instructions
- Add the salt, milk and cauliflower to a big pan of boiling water and cook until al-dente
- Drain cauliflower really well
- Add oil, leaves, garlic, capers and cumin seeds to a large frying pan and heat until the seeds release their flavour
- Add florets and paprika and mix well, frying briefly – you are not looking to brown the cauliflower, just ensure it is coated in the spices
- Add a splash of vinegar and serve
Boil in milky water
Although there is only a splash of vinegar in this recipe it is really important as it lifts the flavours. Cooking the cauliflower in milky water reduces the dodgy smell we associate with boiled cauli, and it also keeps it nice and white.
This is delicious as a tapas dish, or one of my favourite meals recently was some grilled chicken breast (dusted with paprika) served with this cauliflower dish and Soya Beans & Chorizo
