Whole Roast Cauliflower

Cauliflowers are fantastic at this time of year, and I’m lucky to live close to Lincolnshire, a county with rich, alluvial fenland soil ideal for growing this wonderful vegetable.

I cook cauliflower many ways but this is as simple as it gets and always looks impressive, either served to the table as a whole or sliced thickly and served as one slice on the plate as a side dish.

Ingredients (will serve 4 as a side depending on the size of the cauliflower!)

1 Cauliflower

1 tsp paprika (optional)

1 lemon

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Directions

1) Preheat the oven to 180C. Trim the outside leaves from the cauliflower to leave just the curds, but do not separate into florets.

2) Place the cauliflower on a sheet of tinfoil, anoint with a little olive oil, squeeze over the juice from the lemon, season well with salt and pepper and sprinkle with paprika (if using).

3) Wrap the foil tightly around the cauliflower and place on a roasting tin in the centre of the oven.  Cook for 60-90 minutes.

Unwrap and serve.  How simple is that?  The cauli should be lightly browned and still quite firm in the centre.  The beauty of roasting is that the flavour isn’t diluted with any water, I urge you to give this a go!

Orrechiette with broccoli and chorizo

Not a classic Italian dish but a twist on the Puglian original.  If making your own pasta seems a little arduous feel free to buy in some orrechiette and adjust the cooking times according to the packet.  This pasta shape is named after its resemblance to ‘little ears’ and its slightly tougher texture (due to the lack of eggs in the dough) makes it perfect here.  The olive oil becomes part of the sauce and so I tend to use the best that I have.  For a pescatarian alternative see my previous blog using anchoviesand garlic in place chorizo and onions.

Ingredients (to serve 2)

200g pasta, or strong bread flour

1 large head of broccoli

1 large onion

Olive oil

1 lemon

100g chorizo sausage

Directions

1) Add enough water to the flour to form a very firm paste (just enough to bring it together) and work until you feel a change of texture, this should take 5-10 minutes. Allow to rest for 1 hour in the ‘fridge.

2) On a lightly floured surface work your pasta dough into a long thin sausage and cut into small rounds (about the size of a £1 coin), squash these flat with your thumb to give the ‘little ear’ appearance.

3) Bring a large saucepan of very well salted water to the boil.

4) Add 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil to a large frying pan, cut an onion in half and then thin semi circles, add to the pan to soften. Season well with pepper and a little salt.

5) Cut the chorizo into thin circles and add to the onions, allow the fat to render and then turn up the heat to brown a little.

6) Divide the broccoli into bitesize florets and add to the boiling, salted water.  Once the pan has returned to the boil wait 2 minutes and then add the pasta.

7) As the pasta cooks (2-3 minutes) add the juice of half of the lemon to the chorizo pan and lower the heat.

8) Drain the pasta and broccoli and add to the frying pan, combine all of the ingredients, taste and check for seasoning before serving with a lemon wedge.

The pasta should have a nice bite to it and the broccoli should be almost totally soft but still beautifully verdant.  I never serve this pasta with cheese, it clashes with the lemony, chili based sauce, if you’re a fan of spice a pinch of chili flakes is a welcome addition.