Cauliflower & Curry

Recently my mom bought me Norene's Healthy Kitchen, a cookbook written by Norene Gilletz, who is a culinary goddess amongst the Canadian crowd and now a subscriber to Braude's Bites! I was looking through it for new ideas on vegetables and ended up finding delicious recipes for both roasted broccoli and roasted cauliflower that I have made frequently over the past few months. I will never steam either of those vegetables again, they lose their flavor and are never beyond average. Both Norene's roasted veggie dishes are tasty, easy and healthy. Even better, they are company quality- not just for your everyday.

Curry Roasted Cauliflower
Norene's Healthy Kitchen
Yields 4-6 servings

1 large cauliflower
1 red pepper, seeded and cut into long, narrow strips (I always leave it out for some reason)
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup fresh chives or scallions for garnish (I also leave it out)

Preheat the oven to 400. Wash the cauliflower well and cut into florets. Place in pan with red pepper strips, drizzle with olive oil, curry powder and salt. Spread on a single layer on the baking sheet. Roast, uncovered, for 40-45 minutes until golden and crispy; halfway through, toss them to get them all! They taste really good when they are a bit blackened. Remove from oven and sprinkle with onions or chives.

It turns out cauliflower and curry are a delicious combo and the cauliflower has a really buttery taste. A few weeks after rediscoverin cauliflower, I was at Wichcraft, my favorite sandwich chain and they were not serving my spicy carrot soup with vanilla oil, so my friend, Corryn, convinced me to try the cauliflower soup. It was my first time having cauliflower soup. I enjoyed it so much, I made this recipe from Epicurious.com last night and really enjoyed it!

Quick curried cauliflower soup
Adapted from Bon Appétit January 2003
Makes 8 to 10 servings.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
4 teaspoons curry powder
8 cups cauliflower florets (from 1 large head), chopped
10 ounces Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, diced into 1/2-inch cubes (about 1 1/4 cups)
7 cups low-salt chicken broth
1/2 tsp crushed red peppers
Kosher salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté until translucent, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Add sugar and curry powder; stir 1 minute. Add cauliflower and potatoes; stir 1 minute. Add broth and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 35 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and crushed red peppers. Let cool and puree soup with a hand blender.

Note: The original version was bland, by adding spices to taste you will get a great velvety soup with a bit of kick! It's very quick and makes your house smell delightful!

Enjoy!