
Whole roasted cauliflower with shallots
For vegetarians, cauliflower is veg patch royalty. This dish captures all that is right about the marriage of grains and vegetables
- 1 large head of cauliflowerouter leaves removed
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 3 large banana shallotsquartered
- 4 Portobello mushroomssliced
- 2 tsp thymeleaves
- 1 garlic clovecrushed
- 150ml red wine
- 100g young leaf spinach
- 350g wheatberries
- 1l hot vegetable stock
- 50g hazelnuts(skin on), roughly chopped
- ½ tsp crushed pink peppercorns
- 50g vegetarian parmesanfinely grated
Nutrition: per serving
- kcal603
- fat18g
- saturates4g
- carbs74g
- sugars9g
- fibre9g
- protein25g
- salt1g
Method
step 1
Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Sit the cauliflower head upside down on a chopping board and cut the tough stem away. Leave some of the base so that the cauliflower remains intact.
step 2
Heat the oil in a large flameproof casserole dish on a low-medium heat. Add the mustard seeds and, once they begin to ‘pop’, add the shallots. Fry gently for 4-5 mins until starting to caramelise, then add the mushrooms, thyme and garlic, and cook for a further 4-5 mins, stirring every so often. Pour in the wine and reduce by half. Stir in the spinach and allow the leaves to wilt.
step 3
Next, add the wheatberries, season well and combine. Make a well in the centre and put the cauliflower in the middle. Pour the stock around – not over – the caulifower, then season.
step 4
Cover and transfer to the oven. Cook for 50 mins-1 hr until the cauliflower and wheatberries are tender. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the hazelnuts, peppercorns and Parmesan over the cauliflower. Return to the oven for a further 5 mins, then serve.