It tastes seriously good

I’m back to Athens for the winter. December has brought in many fairy lights in preparation for Christmas and very little cold weather. A mild southern breeze brings the smells of the sea in the streets of the city. Blessed with the occasional sunshine, I started digging in my cookbooks for winter vegetable recipes. Love them, hate them? I baked some cauliflower, it’s better than you think.

Head straight to the recipe.

There is something with the roots I find superbly comforting. Especially the oddly shaped red skinned sweet potatoes or large baking potatoes with a bit of dirt on them which are all resting in disorderly piles on the food stalls. Then, there are the large green heads of broccoli and round pale green cabbages, the white heads of cauliflower that sit majestically and shine brighter than the sun. Ok, there probably little need of being poetic over cauliflower. We all know it’s a skunk in disguise. There are a few tips to keep the odours down if you sank it in the pot to boil, add a potato or a carrot to absorb the strong smells. Another tip is to add a bit of vinegar in the boiling water and a couple of bay leaves. Well, to my surprise, I discovered that baking the cauliflower soothes the bad odour effects altogether.

So, here is a yummy baked cauliflower recipe, quick and non-fuss, with winter days growing darker I have a tendency to snuggle up with a cup of hot chocolate. Perfect as a main, a salad or a side dish.

Print Recipe

Baked cauliflower with chervil, sourmilk and almonds

Course: Salad

Cuisine: Modern Greek

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 cauliflower cut in florets
• 100 ml olive oil
• 100 ml sour milk
• A bunch of chervil
• A pinch of cumin optional
• A handful of almonds
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• Once you cut the cauliflower in florets, place on a baking tray, brush with olive oil and dust the florets with some salt and a little cumin (as much as you like).
• Bake the cauliflower for 20-25 minutes at 160 °C.
• Mix the sour milk with the chopped chervil and almonds.
• Once ready, place on a large serving plate and add the juices of the baking tray and the sour milk-chervil-almond sauce you just prepared.

Notes

recipe adapted by chef Kleomenis Zournatzis

Do you have favourite cauliflower recipes? Let me know in the comments below. Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy this one.

From Athens with love,

Eugenia

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