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This whole roasted cauliflower with red bell pepper sauce is a real treat! The cauliflower is slowly baked and then served on a bed of a creamy sauce made with roasted peppers, tomatoes, hazelnuts and almonds. The result is a distinctive dish that will surprise everyone!
This dish can be served as an appetizer or even as a main course if served with for example mashed potatoes and a chickpea schnitzel (or even with an oat schnitzel).
Before you get into the kitchen to prepare this recipe I suggest you read this blog post carefully. The recipe is simple but there are some steps to pay attention to.
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Ingredients
To make this baked cauliflower you'll need the following ingredients:
- cauliflower
- bread
- red peppers
- cherry tomatoes
- pine nuts (optional)
- cinnamon
- garlic
- paprica powder
- cherry vinegar (apple cider vinegar works fine too)
- hazelnuts
- almonds
- olive oil
Step 1: Bake the cauliflower
We start making this recipe by preheating the oven to 200 °C (400 °F). Once the oven is hot we place the cauliflower on a baking dish, brush it with olive oil and season it with salt and pepper.
Then we cover it with foil and place it in the oven to bake for 40 minutes.
After 40 minutes have passed, we lower the temperature to 180 °C (360 °F) and bake the cauliflower for another 40 minutes until it's nice and golden.
Step 2: Make the pepper sauce
Once the cauliflower is in the oven we can start making the bell pepper sauce.
To do this we put cherry tomatoes, peppers and garlic in an oven dish. We top everything with plenty of olive oil, season with salt and pepper and bake in the oven for 40 minutes until lightly browned.
Once the vegetables are cooked, we remove them from the oven and let them cool for a few minutes.
While the vegetables are cooling we put the almonds and hazelnuts on a baking sheet and put them in the oven for 6-7 minutes until they are nicely roasted. Then we remove them from the oven and let them cool for a few minutes.
When both the vegetables and nuts have cooled slightly, we put the nuts along with the bread in a food processor and grind everything finely (as shown in the photo below).
Then we add the baked peppers, spices and vinegar and blend until we have a creamy sauce. In case the sauce was too thick we can add a dash of water or olive oil.
Once the cauliflower is ready we can spread the pepper sauce on a serving dish, sprinkle it with freshly ground black pepper and pine nuts and top it with the cauliflower.
Finally, we can cut the cauliflower in pieces and serve it straight away.
What to serve with whole roasted cauliflower
This cauliflower can be served with:
- mashed potatoes
- baked potatoes
- steamed vegetables
- plain rice
- chickpea cutlets
- oat schnitzel
- seitan roast beef
This recipe is super versatile, it can totally be paired in a lot of different ways so let your imagination run wild.
How to store and reheat whole roasted cauliflower
If you have any leftovers, don't throw them away. Cauliflower can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days. To reheat, place it in the preheated oven at 180°C (360 °F) for 10 minutes.
In case you have any sauce left over you can store it either in the fridge or in the freezer depending on how long you want to keep it.
If you want to keep it for 2-3 days put it in an airtight container and store it in the fridge. In case you want to store it longer put it in an airtight container and store it in the freezer for up to 1-2 months. Let it thaw in the fridge overnight before serving.
More recipes you may like:
If you try this whole roasted cauliflower….
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📖 Recipe
Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cauliflower ((more or less 800 g, 28 oz))
- 1 dash of olive oil
- 2 red peppers cut into chunks
- 500 g cherry tomatoes ((17 oz))
- 3 garlic cloves peeled
- 80 g almonds ((3 oz))
- 50 g hazelnuts ((1¾ oz))
- 80 g bread crumb cut into chunks ((3 oz))
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ⅓ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon cherry vinegar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
- Place cauliflower on a baking sheet, brush with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Cover the cauliflower with foil and bake in the oven for 40 minutes, then lower the temperature to 180 °C (360 °F), remove the foil and bake for another 40 minutes.
- As soon as the cauliflower is in the oven, start preparing the sauce.
- Place cherry tomatoes, red bell peppers and peeled garlic in a baking dish. Top with olive oil and salt and pepper. Bake for 40 minutes, mixing halfway through.
- Then remove from oven and let cool briefly.
- Meanwhile place almonds and hazelnuts onto a baking tray and roast in the oven for 6-7 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes.
- Then add almonds, hazelnuts and bread to a food processor and grind finely.
- Add the baked vegetables, paprika, cinnamon and vinegar and blend until you have a fairly thick cream (if too thick, add a dash of water or olive oil). Season with salt and pepper and mix for another couple of seconds.
- As soon as the cauliflower is cooked, spread the bell pepper cream on a serving dish, top with black pepper and pine nuts. Lay the cauliflower on top, cut into chunks and serve immediately.
Kim says
Delicious! The roasted red pepper sauce was an excellent accompaniment! I used almonds and pine nuts one time, and then cashews and pine nuts the second. Both were delicious 👌🏾🙂 Thank you so much for this recipe!!!