Whole Baked Cauliflower

A whole cauliflower baked in the oven, sitting on vegetables and drenched in extra virgin olive oil, vinegars and tahini. A delicious ‘one pan’ recipe for all the family to enjoy. 100% vegan.

30 mins

1 hour 40 mins

190ºC

Ingredients

1 medium sized cauliflower

- washed, trimmed
Additional vegetables
1 large fresh tomato

- cut into rough chunks
2-3 garlic cloves

- cut into thin slices
2 whole raw green chillies

- optional
Other
Extra virgin olive oil
Sesame tahini
Fig balsamic vinegar

- or pomegranate vinegar
Cider vinegar
Himalayan Pink salt
Coarsely ground black pepper

Instructions

01 Preheat the oven to a hot 190°C
Prepare cauliflower:
02 Using a sharp knife remove the stem and outer leaves of the cauliflower, making sure the cauliflower sits flat. Roughly chop the outer leaves.
Prepare additional vegetables:
03 Wash and trim as instructed.
Assemble for cooking:
04 Pour a small amount of extra virgin olive oil over the base of an oven proof baking dish. Cover the base with the chopped tomatoes and the roughly chopped cauliflower outer leaves. Scatter garlic slices all around, add the whole chillies (optional) and sit the cauliflower on the top. Pour a generous amount of extra virgin olive oil all over the top. Repeat this process with the fig syrup vinegar, cider vinegar and tahini. Season well with freshly ground black pepper and Himalayan sea salt.
Wrap for the oven:
05 Using a large sheet of kitchen tin foil smeared with a light covering of extra virgin olive oil, wrap around the whole dish to cover and seal.
Bake:
06 Place in a very hot oven and cook covered for at least 1 hour. Lift out from the oven and remove the tin foil. Replace to cook for another 30 minutes or more until tender.
Serve:
07 Take to the table hot and serve with freshly boiled rice, potatoes or bread.

Notes

The secret to success with a whole baked cauliflower is cooking in a hot oven. The process of cooking is long but it is worth the effort. If short of time do pre-cook the trimmed cauliflower by placing in a saucepan of boiling water and cook quickly for 5 minutes. Drain under cold water. Then oven bake as per the instructions.