Whole roast cauliflower with qubooli rice salad
A whole cauliflower is roasted in spices, garlic, ginger, chilli and coconut milk for a flavour-packed dinner that is complemented by the herby rice salad alongside.
Ingredients
For the roast cauliflower
- 1 small cauliflower, about 600g/1lb 5oz
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, finely grated
- 1 tsp fresh root ginger, grated
- good pinch saffron threads
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp hot paprika
- 1 tsp black mustard seeds
- 1 red chilli (medium heat), thinly sliced
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- 400ml tin full-fat coconut milk
- handful cashews, toasted
- handful fresh coriander leaves
- salt, to taste
- edible flowers, to garnish
For the qubooli rice salad
- 250g/9oz freshly cooked rice (mixture of wild, brown or basmati)
- 250g/9oz cooked Puy lentils
- ½ red onion, finely diced
- ½ cucumber, seeds removed and diced
- 50²µ/1¾´Ç³ú dried apricots, quartered
- 30g/1oz currants
- 50²µ/1¾´Ç³ú shelled and unsalted pistachios, dry roasted and roughly chopped
- 3 spring onions, thinly sliced
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 large lemons, juice only
- 1 red chilli, finely diced
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh mint leaves
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander leaves
- sea salt, to taste
Method
To make the cauliflower, remove the outer leaves of the cauliflower and trim the base so that the cauliflower can stand upright. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil and add the turmeric, mixing well to create a deep yellow-coloured broth. Place the cauliflower upside down into the turmeric water and boil for 4 minutes. Drain in a colander and allow the cauliflower to steam dry for about 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6. Whisk together the melted butter, oil, garlic, ginger, saffron, cumin seeds, paprika, black mustard seeds, chilli and sugar in a small bowl. Pour this mixture over the cauliflower, rubbing it into all the cracks and crevices. Sprinkle salt over the cauliflower.
Pour the coconut milk into the base of a small roasting tin that is about 20cm/8in square and place the cauliflower on top. Roast for about 30 minutes, basting the cauliflower with the coconut milk after 15 minutes. The surface of the cauliflower should be charred and deep golden, with a thick coconut milk sauce at the bottom of the tin. If the sauce hasn't reduced down, transfer the juices to a saucepan and reduce down to form a sauce-like consistency.
Meanwhile, for the qubooli rice salad, put the rice, lentils, onion, cucumber, apricots, currants, pistachios and spring onions in a bowl. Stir gently with a fork to combine. Pour the oil, lemon juice, chilli and a generous pinch of salt into a small jug and stir well with a fork. Drizzle this dressing over the rice and lentil salad, scatter over the mint and coriander and toss the salad gently to combine all the ingredients.
To serve, sprinkle the toasted cashews and coriander over the cauliflower. Serve the cauliflower and sauce immediately with the rice salad and garnish with the edible flowers.