With Autumn well underway and our lovely cruciferous vegetables appearing abundantly at the local farmers markets, I get excited! The nutritional benefits these veggies like Cauliflower, Broccoli, Cabbage, Brussel Sprouts provide include antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties.  Their flavour is second to none, plus they’re packed with fiber, helping with digestion and satiety.

Cauliflower can be cooked and eaten in so many ways, steamed, sautéed, chopped and roasted but, I always find it disappointing to chop up such a beautiful flower. So here’s a dish you can do that celebrates the cauliflower in it’s whole!

The Cauli goes amazingly with other roast veggies and roasted or grilled meat. I didn’t eat it all at once but it was delicious through my salads for lunch during the week. And then… IT HIT ME. This would be AHMAZING as a DIP or SOUP! So I jumped up, grabbed my food processor and got to work!

Check out recipes for both the Marinated Roast Cauliflower and Roast Cauliflower and Leek Dip below!

Firstly

Here’s Amy’s recipe for Spicy Yoghurt Marinated Roast Cauliflower.

Recipe Type: GF, Vg

Ingredients:

• 1 full cauliflower, leaves removed, stem chopped down to base (so that it sits flat).
• 1 Leak (if also making the Roast Cauli and Leek Dip)
• 1/2 cup coconut yoghurt (you could also use full fat coconut cream or full fat greek yoghurt)
• 1 tablespoon garam masala
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 heaped teaspoon minced fresh ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
• Good pinch of sea salt

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 400F/200C and line a baking tray with baking paper.
2. In a bowl, mix together all the marinade ingredients with a fork (don’t use a blender, it’ll get to liquid-y) then fully coat the entire cauliflower, including underneath.
3. Chop Leek into 2cm chunks.
4. Pop both into the oven on lined baking trays for 45-60 minutes, depending on the size of your cauliflower (keep an eye on the leek, you’ll need to remove the leek before the Cauli is done).
5. Drizzle with lots of lemon juice to serve.

Secondly, If you can manage not to devour all of the Roast Cauli at once…

Use some of your Roasted Cauli to make Roast Cauliflower and Leek Dip!

Roast Cauliflower & Leak Dip

Ingredients:

• 3 cups roasted cauliflower florets (as per Amy’s recipe above)
• 1 cup roasted leeks
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp Garam Marsala
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp tahini
• salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Place all ingredients in food processor and process until smooth (with a few chunks still). You’ll need to stop every now and then and scrape down the sides of the processor to make sure everything gets mixed in and blended. Add a pit of water if it’s proving a little difficult to combine.

Enjoy with vege sticks, crackers, on top of fritters or toast!