I grew up only ever having steamed cauliflower so I was amazed the first time I had roasted cauliflower. Something about roasting the florets truly brings out the flavour with added crunch. Normally, when I serve roasted cauliflower, I would roast in a small amount of oil with lots of spice, perhaps with a harissa paste or even a vegetarian red pesto. Check out my harissa roasted cauliflower recipe if this sounds interesting to you. HOWEVER, this creamy cauliflower bake is an alternative to that, providing a satisfyingly creamy yet light consistency.
Cauliflower is very nutritious and fulfilling vegetable and when flavoured right, its perfect for any time of the year. Serve the cauliflower with a fresh salad in the summer or a hearty dahl in the winter. Choose something extra vibrant for an aesthetically pleasing dish. In this recipe, I have paired the cauliflower with colourful ‘pickled’ red cabbage and some spinach. I love the addition of the vivid red cabbage. It gives a beautifully colourful plate and it is even more perfect when garnished with some bright green coriander. Fresh and yummy!
No food waste, we’re using it all!
It is incredibly important to reduce our food waste. I hate to throw away anything that can be turned into something else or used in another dish. This is why I have incorporated the cauliflower leaves and stem into the dish. This uses a part of the cauliflower that may be otherwise thrown away. It also adds a change of texture and an extra boost to our creamy cauliflower bake.
In order to add the leaves and stems to the dish you need to fist of all, fully wash the whole cauliflower to remove any dirt. Then take a sharp knife and carefully sever the leaves as close to the stem as you can and place them in the saucepan. Then start chopping the cauliflower into small florets. Generally, whether I’m roasting cauliflower or making cauliflower rice, I like to chop into small pieces. In this dish, I like to have a small variation in size as that means every bit is slightly different and this creates a range of texture.
Chop up the cauliflower into small florets. Take the leftover stem and put this whole into a saucepan with the leftover stems. This isn’t the only option for the stem, you could place the cauliflower stem and leaves in the oven and roast in some oil and seasoning for 10 minutes on high. This makes an excellent side dish or a tasty snack. Alternatively, you can put all parts of the cauliflower into a blender and blitz to add into a soup. These are just a couple of options, be creative and try to sue as much of the vegetable as possible.
Red Cabbage? Other Sides?
So, the first step in this recipe is to prepare the red cabbage. This is very simple to prepare and consists of only a few ingredients. I have the ‘pickled red cabbage’ recipe if you want to prepare this side on its own.
Be Careful & Use a Sharp Knife
As the red cabbage is quite large and round, I would recommend using a large and sharp chefs knife on a solid chopping board. Please take care when chopping and because the red cabbage can easily transfer colour, I would suggest washing the chopping board soon after preparing.
Once the lime juice is added to the cabbage the deep colour will be drawn out even more. I recommend taking care with this part as it will easily stain. (Also maybe don’t wear anything white if you can be a bit messy like me).
Why Should I Eat Red Cabbage?
I think the red cabbage goes perfectly with this bakes cauliflower in terms of flavour texture and also its very aesthetically pleasing as it provides a contrasting and vivid addition of colour. Not only this, but red cabbage is insanely good for you! Do you know why red cabbage is such a gorgeous purple? The colour is caused by a compound called anthocyanin. This actually changes colour when mixed with an acid. This is why the cabbage becomes more vibrant when we add the acidic lime juice.
Red cabbage is also a great source of fibre and contains a high content of many nutrients such as vitamin c, vitamin e and vitamin k. The fibre contributes towards a healthy digestive system which is so so important! One of my favourite things about the red cabbage is that it is low calorie. This means you can have a large portion without packing on the pounds. Plus, becomes its jam packed full of fibre, it is actually really filling which makes it a great choice for anyone on a diet.
Sides?
If you are looking for a carbohydrate to serve with this creamy cauliflower bake with then my best recommendation would be to use bulgur wheat. Add this to the saucepan and flavour the water with turmeric. This will allow it to absorb the gorgeous colour and flavour. Alternatively swap this out for any other grain such as quinoa, buckwheat or even rice. Personally, I think the fluffiness of the bulgur wheat makes it the best choice and when flavoured with turmeric it has a lovely golden glow.
If your are looking for something a bit more indulgent, why not serve with my garlic bread recipe. The crunchy sourdough bread will beautifully compliment the creamy and cheesy bakes cauliflower.
Creamy Cauliflower Bake with no Cream?
I’ve labelled this dish creamy cauliflower bake but in reality it is using a light soft cheese to get a creamy texture. I have neglected cream from this recipe because this just makes it too heavy and I wanted a lighter dish. I have tried this out a few times with a couple different soft cheeses and I have listed Ricotta in this recipe, but this could easily be replaced with any soft cheese of your choice. Philadelphia is also a favourite of mine and also works well. You could also just keep adding cheese until you get cauliflower cheese, however for this recipe I prefer it to be lighter.
Creamy Cauliflower Bake and Red Cabbage
Ingredients
Red Cabbage
- 2 Spring Onions
- 1 Handful Chopped Coriander
- ½ Head Red Cabbage
- 1 Lime
- Salt
Cauliflower Bake
- 1 large Cauliflower
- 1 Cup Spinach Shredded
- 200g Small Sweet Tomatoes
- 2 Cloves Garlic
- 400g Ricotta Cheese
- 50g Feta Cheese
- 3 tsp Sweet Paprika
- Salt
- Ground Pepper
- Celery Salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 Celsius
- Slice the red cabbage into thin strips and place into a large bowl
- Squeeze the juice of the lime onto the red cabbage and add a large pinch of salt and half of the coriander
- Wash the cauliflower, remove the outer leaves and place these to one side
- Cut the cauliflower into small florets and keep the inner leaves and stem, place the florets into a large ovenproof dish and place the leaves and stem into a pan of water and bring to the boil
- Place the ricotta, paprika, salt and pepper into the dish and mix well so that the cauliflower is evenly covered
- Once the cauliflower leaves and stems are softened enough to easily prod with a fork, remove from heat, drain, and dry
- Spread the leaves, tomatoes and spinach around the cauliflower dish. Carefully take the stem and cut into bite sized chunks and spread around the dish. Crumble the feta on the surface along with a sprinkling of celery salt. This can be baked for a further 25-30minutes.
- Once baked, remove from the oven and serve with the red cabbage. Garnish with the rest of the coriander and slices of spring onion
