I am most often the sort of cook who just rummages around the fridge to see what there is, then bung things up together, with a bit of inspiration plucked from a miscellany of memories, past dishes and nuggets of ideas from cookbooks I have read. In other words, I often cook without much planning. This is something I put together not long ago when I had some friends over for dinner.
As a side dish, it is quite substantial, and I served it with grilled chicken, cous cous with raisins and sliced olives and a green salad. And no, it is not Asian — except for the garnish perhaps.
You can take this recipe and adjust it as you like. If you like it sweeter, add some honey to the cauliflower when you bake it, and serve it with raisins and roasted cherry tomatoes. If you like a bit more spice, add ground curry powder and cumin to bake. If you want to make it more sophisticated and exotic, replace the sesame seeds with tobiko. It’s a wonderfully versatile recipe that you can adjust according to your taste. Have a go at it. 🙂
Baked Cauliflower with Sunflower Seeds
1 medium head of cauliflower, cut into large florets
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp brown sugar
Salt and black pepper to taste
Toasted sunflower seeds for garnish
A handful of coriander, chopped
Optional choice of one:
Red pepper flakes
Toasted cumin seeds
Japanese furikake
Method
Parboil cauliflower for about 1-2 minutes. Drain.
Combine cauliflower, olive oil, sugar, salt and pepper in a roasting pan and roast at 200C for about 30 minutes.
When done, transfer it onto a plate, toss with a bit more olive oil to moisten, and scatter sunflower seeds and chopped coriander over it artfully.
If you like a bit more flavour, add some red pepper flakes, your choice of Japanese furikake or toasted cumin.
The Runaway Palate 
This was great! I really like cauliflower and have never tried it this way, so “thank you.” Easy to prepare and I like the sesame seed idea.
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Thanks for stopping by to read it. 🙂
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It takes real confidence in the kitchen to just throw something together from the remnants in your fridge! Bravo and Salute!
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Thank you my friend.
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You have described my cooking style quite eloquently.The dish looks very good! Why do you parboil it before roasting? I like the options. That too is something I would do. Variety is the spice of life.
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Hi Angel.
Ah! Kindred culinary spirits! I parboil it simply because I try to cut down on oven time. I understand it takes up a lot of energy to heat it up, and it’s just something I do to be green. Helps chip away at the electricity bill too. Apart from that, I’m always just a little impatient, so this cuts down on cooking time.
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That makes PERFECT sense (cents too!) I am impatient and roasting veggies can take some time. Thanks. I’m hungry thinking about it.
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I make a version of that for most veggies, the most delicious one being cauliflowers, peppers and eggplants. Next time I will try with sesame and cumin seeds, it sounds delicious. Thanks!
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