Cauliflower is the gift that keeps on giving. Honestly, you hack off enough florets to feed a band of maurading pirates, come back the next day and it’s regenerated. I’m convinced that we’re still eating the same head we bought back in ’72.
Of course, on these dark days of winter that’s no bad thing, is it? You scratch your head and wonder what’s for dinner and the answer is there staring you in the face: cauliflower. Friends drop over unexpectedly and you’re stumped for what to feed them? Not any longer: cauliflower. Who needs to run out to the grocery store and buy something for dinner. It’s right there, taking up 99% of the veg shelf: cauliflower.
Yes, it’s white. Very white. Ghostly pale and let’s be honest, rather sulphurous when your old Aunt Edith cooked it for 3-4 hours before she was sure it had been beaten into submission. But tuck it into a roaring hot oven with a lick of some spices and suddenly — va, va, va, voom — it’s transformed.
Those of you impatient souls who race to the recipe will note that we’re using our Abiquiu Steak Marinade for this dish. You will also note that there is no steak in the recipe. Clever clogs. Just because we call it a steak marinade doesn’t mean you can’t use it in other things. Like cauliflower. Now get cooking.
Spicy chile cauliflower & garbanzo beans
Serves 2 as a main dish or 4 as a side dish
8 oz. cauliflower florets (about 2 large handfuls), sliced thinly
1-14oz can of garbanzo beans, drained
2 scallions, sliced into large dice
1 Tbsp Abiquiu Steak Marinade
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
zest of one lime, plus the juice
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
To garnish (your choice – go crazy):
Chopped cilantro
Cumin seeds
Chopped pistachios
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Place the sliced cauliflower and garbanzo beans in a large roasting pan. Mix together the Abiquiu Steak Marinade, turmeric powder, lime zest, salt, and olive oil. Spread over the vegetables and give them a good stir so the vegetables are evenly coated.
Place in the preheated oven and roast for around 15 minutes until the cauliflower is tender. Add in the chopped scallions and cook for another few minutes. Remove from the oven, spritz on the lemon juice. Taste and add some more salt if needed and top with your choice of garnishes.
Thanksgiving used to be so easy. You’d cook like a mad thing, burn a few dishes, fall asleep during a bowl game and wake up at two in the morning with a glass of merlot clutched in your hand and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome blaring on the television. Ah, those were the good old days.
But fear not. Make a showstopper ‘free from’ dish – no meat, no dairy, no gluten and you’re sorted. Forget some sorry, last minute pasta with tomato sauce – that’s not “Thanks” giving it’s “I-couldn’t-be-bothered” giving. Meat eaters can tuck into turkey while your plant-based buddies smile smugly. It’s a win-win.
Serves 2-3
Preheat oven to 425ºF
The Chile Trail 