Roasted Cauliflower

                       

This winter hasn't been really winter, so far. Too warm. Kids complain about absence of snow. 
Even the little snow that we had two days ago were rather "much noise about nothing". The moment it stopped snowing, all the snow melted away. My younger daughter coming out of school was almost crying, "It's all fault of the Sun. Now I can't even make a snowman."
There was however one beautiful moment. Just when it stopped snowing I opened the windows in my bedroom and was so pleased to breathe that clean, fresh, crisp air. In this town, so polluted, it was really such a rare thing. It's one of the reasons I wish it would snow more often, although I do hate all the disadvantages it brings along. Especially now that I have to cross the town from one end to the other to take kids to school. 


                       


To break the monotony of winter months, I thought this purple cauliflower was so cute. And picked up two heads the moment I saw them at the grocery store. There's so little colour, besides white and green. But there's always the problem of "bad smell" in the kitchen when cauliflower is being boiled or steamed. NO more.
I believe you have all by now tried roasting it, but I often ignore trends or arrive late. Better late than never.
It's super easy. I prepared it very simle, with just a little salt and paprika, but do feel free to add other spices or herbs. Experiment. Find your own formula. For example I added some cardamom once. Loved it.
And I'm particularly happy that a compliment I recieved was, "Next time, make sure you don't bring just a handful of these to the table." It's not my fault, actually. They shrink a lot when roasted, keep that in mind, and don't roast just a few florets. Even the baby enjoyed it. That says it all.
Instead of dividing the cauliflower into florets, like (I think) all recipes say, I sliced it. I don't know why, but I liked the result so I continued doing it every time. Slicing the cauliflower you get some nice pieces, that look almost like flowers, easy to serve as a side dish, and can be used to decorate your plate as well. And you get some crumbs, too that are excellent to add to pasta or soup for example, or to be picked by little hands. Either way, give it a try... if you haven't done so already.

For now, here's the basic recipe for how I roast cauliflower. And how I used it in a delicious, fingerlicking and gourmet (as my hubby defined it). But I have another one, for a soup coming. So... 

                       


Roasted Cauliflower with Paprika

* 1 head of cauliflower (white, purple or green)
*  salt
 * paprika
 * extra virgin olive oil
 * butter

Remove the external leaves and wash carefully the cauliflower. If it's a rather big one divide it into big florets first and then slice each into 1/2 cm thick pieces. Otherwise, for a smaller head, you can slice it whole.
Line a baking pan with parchment paper and drizzle a little olive oil over it. 
Toss the cauliflower with salt and paprika and arrange on the bottom of the prepared baking pan. 
Distribute a few pieces of butter on top and bake in the oven preheated to 180°C. 
Depending on how you like your cauliflower, crunchy or soft, it will take sometime between 15-20 minutes or a little longer. Stir a couple times so that the cauliflower roasts evenly.


Pasta with roasted cauliflower and bread crumbs

(for 4 servings): * 320 g pasta (penne, tortiglioni, fusili etc.)
* 2-3 slices of old bread
* roasted cauliflower 
* 2 cloves of garlic
* extra virgin olive oil
* 2 TBspoons sesame seeds

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
Add pasta and salt and cook until the pasta is al dente.
In the meantime, grind the bread in a food processor to get rough bread crumbs.
Warm up 2-3 TBspoons of olive oil with whole cloves of garlic in a large skillet. Add the bread crumbs, and toast them stirring often.
Drain the pasta when cooked and add it to the skillet with condiments. 
Add the cauliflower, and toss everything together. 
Sprinkle some toasted sesame seeds on top and serve immediately.


                       


Cavolfiore arrostito

* 1 testa di cavolfiore (bianco, verde o viola)
*  sale
 * paprika (peperone rosso macinato)
 * olio extra vergine d'oliva
 * burro

Tagliate via delle foglie esterne e lavate il cavolfiore. 
Divitelo in cime più grandi e poi affettatele oppure tagliate direttamente la testa a fettine di spessore di 1/2 cm. 
Raccogliete tutto, le fettine intere e le briciole e condite con il sale e un po' di paprika.
Foderate una teglia con la carta da forno e versateci un filo di olio EVO sul fondo. 
Distribuite il cavolfiore in uno strato uniforme e infornatelo nel forno già caldo a 180°C.
Regolate il tempo di cottura secondo i propri gusti, circa 15-20 minuti se vi piace croccante o un po' di più se lo preferite morbido. 
Rigirate un paio di volte per facilitare una cottura più uniforme.


Pasta con cavolfiore arrostito e briciole di pane

(per 4 porzioni) * 320 g di pasta  (penne, tortiglioni, fusili ecc.)
* 2-3 fette di pane raffermo
* cavolfiore arrostito
* 2 spicchi d'aglio
* olio extra vergine d'oliva
* 2 cucchiai di semi di sesamo (leggermente tostati)

Mettete a bollire una pentola d'acqua per la pasta.
Mentre la pasta si cuoce, tritate il pane in un robot da cucina.
Scaldate 2-3 cucchiai di olio EVO in una padella insieme ai spicchi interi d'aglio.
Aggiungete le briciole di pane e tostatele mescolando.
Scolate la pasa quando è cotta al dente e aggiungetela nella padella con le briciole.
Unite anche il cavolfiore e saltate tutto insieme.
Cospargete con i semi di sesamo e servite subito.


                        


Pečena cvjetača

* 1 glavica cvjetače (nije važna boja ;))
*  sol
 * mljevena crvena paprika
 * maslinovo ulje
 * maslac

Cvjetaču očistite od vanjskih listova.
Možete je prvo podijeliti na veće cvjetove, ili ako je glavica manja izravno narezati na "kriške" debljine 1/2 cm.
Na pleh stavite komad papira za pečenje, malo ga nauljite pa rasporedite narezanu cvjetaču.
Posolite i pospite paprikom.
Preko cvjetače stavite listiće maslaca.
Pecite u pećnici zagrijanoj na 180°C (vrijeme pečenja prilagodite svojem ukusu - može biti 15-20 minuta ako volite da je cvjetača hrskavija, ili malo duže ako volite da je skroz mekana). Tijekom pečenja par puta promiješajte i preokrenite cvjetaču da se ravnomjernije ispeče.


Tjestenina s pečenom cvjetačom i mrvicama

(za 4 osobe): * 320 g tjestenine po izboru (penne, tortiglioni, fusili itd.)
* 2-3 kriške starog kruha
* pečena cvjetača (količina po želji)
* 2 češnja bijelog luka
* maslinovo ulje
* 2 žlice sjemenki sezama

Stavite veći lonac s vodom da provrije.
U ključalu vodu ubacite tjesteninu i posolite.
Dok se tjestenina kuha, smrvite u sjeckalici kruh da dobijete krupnije mrvice.
Zagrijte u tavi 2-3 žlice maslinovog ulja s cijelim češnjakom, dodajte mrvice kruha i popržite miješajući.
Ocijedite kuhanu tjesteninu i dodajte u tavu s mrvica, sve skupa zagrijte i izmiješajte na vatri.
Dodajte pečenu cvjetaču (možete odvojiti veće komade cvjetače i poslužiti kao prilog, a one sitnije, "izmrvljene" dodati u tjesteninu).
Pospite prethodno na suho poprženim sjemenkama sezama i poslužite.