RECIPE: Blackened Cauliflower

Oh, my, is this delicious!  I'm sure the recipe will also work with root veggies.  (I tried it with broccoli and did NOT like it!)

The original recipe is from The New York Times.  I made it as written and I thought the smoke in the paprika overwhelmed the other spices, so I made some adjustments and we both liked my second effort better.  Less smoke and more spice!  Reduce the pepper flakes if you can't handle hot. 

We eat a LOT of vegetables, and one pound of cauliflower is barely one meal for us, so I tripled the recipe, which saves a huge amount on power consumption, especially since the recipe calls for such a hot oven.  It reheats beautifully - 10 minutes in a 350F toaster oven.

Original recipe: Blackened Cauliflower

Blackened Cauliflower

serves 6

INGREDIENTS

• 3 pounds frozen cauliflower, defrosted (or 3 large heads, cored and separated into florets, about 3 pounds)
• 4 T. EVOO
• 1 T. himalayan pink salt
• 1 T. onion powder
• 1 T. garlic powder
• 1.5 t. dried thyme leaves 
• 1.5 t. sumac powder (preferably cured with salt)
• 1.5 t. smoked paprika
  
• 1.5 t. hot pepper flakes, or to taste (I used cobanero chili flakes)
  
• freshly ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 450F.  Place rack in center of oven.

Mix the seasonings, excluding the black pepper, in a small bowl.

In a large bowl, toss the cauliflower with the olive oil.  Add the seasonings and mix to coat the florets evenly.

Transfer to a jelly roll pan (13" x 18"), using a rubber spatula to scrape every last bit of the seasoning onto the cauliflower, and spread the florets out evenly.

Grind the black pepper to taste over the cauliflower. 

Cauliflower ready for the oven.

Roast until nicely browned but not black.  In our oven, it takes 30 minutes, using frozen cauliflower.  When I left it in for 35 minutes, some of the edges were burnt.  My husband liked them but I don't like to eat burnt food!  

The original recipe recommends 35-40 minutes, using fresh cauliflower, and stirring halfway through.  

I served this with Chicken in Poblano Crema and it was a perfect combination!

Cauliflower on the left, poblano crema in center, chicken breast on right.