We're deep into cauliflower season in the northern hemisphere (I got a volleyball-sized cauliflower in my Farmhouse Delivery last week), and it's cold outside – even here in Austin – so now is a great time to crank up the oven. The cocoa in the recipe enhances the natural nuttiness of the cauliflower, the paprika adds depth and a nice spicy bite… and all of the work is done in the oven. You know how much I love that!
If you're concerned about cocoa compliance, don't be. The Whole9 gives it a thumbs-up, even during a Whole30. So go ahead, it's OK to go cuckoo for cocoa. (sorry.)
Cocoa-Toasted Cauliflower
Ingredients:Directions:
1 head of fresh cauliflower
1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted
salt to taste
garlic powder to taste
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa
1. Preheat the oven to 400F and line a baking pan or sheet with aluminum foil.
2. Break cauliflower into florets and place in bowl. Toss with melted coconut oil until well-coated, about 2 minutes. For serious. The more you toss, the better the fat is distributed.
3. Mix paprika and cocoa in a small bowl, then sprinkle over cauliflower and toss until evenly coated.
4. Sprinkle the cauliflower with salt and garlic powder; I like a lot – you might not.
5. Bake until tender and started to get nice brown spots, about 25-30 minutes. Bonus points if you stir the cauliflower halfway through the baking time.
It is ON my grocery list. :) I've been wanting to MAKE myself like cauliflower and there is no other way than to just keep trying it. That's how I came to love broccoli...raw is my fav. ;)
ReplyDeletewell, you did it again! cocoa & cauliflower? genius!! made this recipe the instant I saw it...came out beautifully....deeeeeeeeeee-lish!!! keep 'em comin' please ;o)
ReplyDeleteI'm adding cauliflower to next weeks list...my son is not a fan of the cauliflower, but if I tell him it has chocolate (OK, I'm going to stretch it a bit) in it he may learn to love it. Your recipes are all delicious and all the ones that I've tried have turned out perfectly. Thanks Ms. Joulwan!
ReplyDeleteHooray! I'm glad you guys are excited about this recipe. It was inspired by a book I'm reading called "A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table"... she mentions in passing (but doesn't provide a recipe!) that a friend roasted cauliflower with cocoa... so I got curious and decided to give it a shot. The garlic gives it a nice almost-mole flavor.
ReplyDeleteI had 12 oz of tiny bay scallops in the freezer. Added them to the cauliflower at the 20 minute point, stirred everything around pretty well, and gave it 10 more minutes in the oven. Fabulous! But the cauliflower itself is awfully darn good, and I will definitely make this again as a side dish. Thank you, thank you!
ReplyDeleteVaughan --> That sounds DELISH! Love that idea! I'm thinking it will be really good with some ground beef mixed in, too.
ReplyDeleteThanks for giving it a test run today -- so glad you like it!
Simply love roasted cauliflower, made some tonight, next time I'll try this. BTW - Kale chips are awesome!
ReplyDeleteI tried this recipe last night! So delicious! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteSounds delicious! I will try it next.
ReplyDeleteThanks Melissa!
Girl+Puppy Paleo --> Aren't kale chips crazy-good?!
ReplyDeleteMimi --> Awesome! Glad you like it.
Hi, Valerie! Hope you like it!
BAH! I was all set to make this tonight but every single cocoa I found, in several stores, including organic cocoa, said "may contain traces of gluten, dairy and soy".. wahhh so I will make some fauxtatoes tonight with our steak and wait til I get a Whole30 compliant cocoa, somehow.
ReplyDeleteMelanie --> BOO! HISS! on your cocoa options. That's a big bummer. I'm sorry to hear that! But mashed cauliflower is really tasty, too. Happy eating!
ReplyDeleteCrazy creative! I will definitely need to try this. Tonight I used cauliflower in my paleo cottage pie, another delicious meal! If you haven't tried that yet, you should.
ReplyDeleteNot a big cauli fan, but I found myself sneaking these off of the cookie sheet before the rest of dinner was ready! Pretty good!
ReplyDeleteDoes this prove that (a) cocoa makes everything better or (b) roasting is magic?
ReplyDeleteOr both?!
:-)