Meals times…I hope I’m not alone in the struggle to feed a family (a large one at that) without getting into the rut of the same things over and over again. We have the things we love and the staples that we cook regularly, but sometimes it just gets boring. Same old, same old… and for me, it’s more about what goes with the chicken or the fish or whatever. Side dishes have never been my strong point……rice, salad, tatties and veg…aargh!
Helen R jokingly made a comment about cauliflower a while ago……”how can anyone crave cauliflower?” or words to that effect (prompted by a Sainsburys Facebook ad, apparently). Now I love cauliflower. It’s my favourite veg next to sprouts. Weird, I know! So “I can” was my immediate response. So long as its cooked right. And by cooked right, I clearly mean steamed?! Because that’s the only way to cook cauliflower, right? And that’s where the idea came for a lovely new side dish that would add a little something extra to lots of our staple meals.
Roasted cauliflower…hmm, doesn’t sound great but honestly, it’s delicious. Here’s how I do it.
Grab yourself a large baking tray, deep sided is best. Drizzle some olive oil and some sea salt in to the tray. Break your cauliflower up into the smallest florets. Now take some baby new potatoes (leave whole or half them, your choice). Place cauliflower and potatoes into the baking tray with crushed black pepper and 2 or 3 garlic cloves. Once everything is in the tray, give it a good mix. Put it in the oven on about 200c for 40mins (you can give it a shake about half way through). Take them out when they look delicious and golden.
Now I served this with bacon-wrapped chicken, but I think it would go really well with fish too. Oh and if you wanted, you could add tomatoes or parmesan to give it a different twist. This is one of those dishes where you add a little more of what you like or a little less of what you don’t. Tweak it to suit you. Enjoy.
