Roasted Whole Cauliflower with Romesco Sauce

A head turner suitable for vegetarians, vegans or anyone who fancies a meat-free bite to eat. Delicious!

This is a pretty straightforward recipe, but I would say the key things are to avoid overcooking the cauliflower at all costs, and to make sure you get the delicious charring on the outside - don't be afraid!

It's all too easy to end up with a mushy vegetable if you go straight to the oven, so the trick here is to partially cook the cauliflower first in a large pan of boiling water, and then roast it in the oven with temperature cranked right up.

For the romesco sauce you can of course use store-bought roasted peppers in jars, but they tend to be expensive where I live and making them yourself is easy. You can also skip the roasted garlic step but it definitely adds something.

A 1kg head of cauliflower will feed 4 comfortably.

Ingredients

1. 1 large cauliflower, about 1kg

2. 50ml of softened butter and 50ml of extra virgin olive oil

For the romesco sauce:

1. 3 roasted, steamed and peeled red bell peppers (or capsicums / sweet peppers depending on where you are).

2. 4-5 garlic cloves, roasted in foil for 35-40 minutes

3. 2-3 sun-dried or cherry tomatoes

4. Splash of red wine vinegar

5. 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika

6. 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper

7. Extra virgin olive oil to loosen, around 150ml - this should yield plenty of sauce which you can also store and use for other recipes.

Method

1. Put a pan of salted water large enough to cover the entire cauliflower on the stove, and bring to a boil. Preheat the oven to 240°C.

2. Trim the leaves and stalk of the cauliflower so that it sits flat. Place top down into the boiling water and cook for eight minutes, turning once. Remove from pan and drain in a colander (again stem side up) for 10 minutes.

3. Rub the butter and olive oil all over the cauliflower and season with salt. I leave the black pepper until after cooking - roasted black pepper can become bitter.

4. Place the cauliflower on a baking tray lined with parchment and roast for about 30 minutes until well charred all over. Baste once or twice.

5. Meanwhile put all the ingredients for the sauce, except the oil, into a bowl and whizz with a stick blender. You can also use a food processor.

6. Once smooth start to drizzle in the olive oil, whilst still whizzing. Carry on until the sauce is the consistency that you prefer. I like mine a little loose, but thick enough to cover the back of a spoon. I serve the sauce at room temperature with the hot cauliflower.

7. Check the seasoning, and spread the sauce onto a plate (or a pasta plate if you have one). Remove the cauliflower from the oven when ready, season again if needed and serve on top of the sauce. You can scatter some parsley over it, perhaps together with a squeeze of lemon juice.

8. Partners well with a simple salad with vinaigrette

Note: Traditional romesco sauce recipes often include chopped or powdered roasted almonds - I usually skip this.