Roast Cauliflower with Turmeric Coconut Cream

This is a recipe that is perfect for any night of the week. Browning the cauliflower after blanching it for a few minutes, is a simple way to give the vegetable a head start by adding a greater depth of flavour. The complex characters of the marinade pair wonderfully with the turmeric sauce. If you would like to increase the richness of the sauce, try replacing the water with coconut milk.

Ingredients − Serves 4

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1. Bring a large stock pot of salted water to a rolling boil.
2. Submerge the whole rinsed cauliflower in the boiling water and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes, stem side down.
3. Drain and leave to cool until comfortable to handle.
4. Keep any tender leaves for the garnish. Discard the middle stem. Remove all the stalks and chop into 3-4 cm pieces. Break the cauliflower into uneven chunky florets with your hands or use a small knife.
5. In a large bowl combine all the marinade ingredients with a good pinch of salt. Toss florets and chopped stalks in the marinade and let sit for 15 minutes to infuse.
6. Pre-heat a fan forced oven oven grill at 200˚C for 15 minutes. Line a large shallow baking dish with foil and spray with olive oil.
7. To make the Turmeric Coconut Cream – heat a deep saucepan until hot, add 2 tablespoons coconut oil and cook the shallots with a pinch of salt for 5 minutes until golden brown and soft. Add 2 tablespoons Latasha’s Kitchen Indonesian Turmeric Kari Paste, 2 teaspoons Latasha’s Kitchen Turmeric Spice Magic or ½ teaspoon turmeric powder and water, then heat for 5 minutes until it’s a little saucy. Next add coconut cream and palm sugar, and allow to simmer gently for around 10 minutes until the sauce thickens slightly and comes to a gentle boil. Turn the flame off and keep aside for the flavours to develop. Gently reheat to serve.
8. Spread the marinated cauliflower in an even layer on the prepared baking dish. Transfer to the oven and roast for 15-20 minutes, until the cauliflower is just beginning to char on the edges.
9. While the cauliflower is roasting, heat 1 tablespoon coconut oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add curry leaves and fry till crisp. Remove and keep aside on a paper lined plate. Fry the sliced red and green chillies in the same oil until crisp. Remove and set aside with the curry leaves. Reserve oil in the fry pan.
10. Remove the roasted cauliflower from the oven and arrange decoratively on a platter. Add any roasting pan juices to the turmeric coconut cream (from Step 7).
11. Top the roasted cauliflower with the turmeric coconut cream, garnish with tender blanched leaves, fried curry leaves, fried chillies and drizzle with the oil from the fry pan.
12. Enjoy the roasted cauliflower with the turmeric coconut cream over bowls of jasmine rice.

TIP: This recipe can be rich, so it’s best that the cauliflower is well charred but still crunchy.