Roast, grill or grate, and heap with flavour: how to cook cauliflower

My partner hates cauliflower, but I love it. How can I make him see the error of his ways?
Hannah, London N4

“Cauliflower is social,” says Ravinder Bhogal, chef-patron of Jikoni in London. “Its mild flavour invites the company of all manner of nuts, seeds, spices and herbs. Open your larder – find the heavy hitters, from soy and miso to tahini – and cauliflower will stand up to every one of them.” She’s not kidding about its versatility, either – you can grill it, grate it into rice or pizza bases, blitz it into bolognese, fritters or soup, mash it (to top lentil pies, say) or cut it into florets for curries. This should, in theory, help convince sceptics.

The obvious solution to Hannah’s issue is to treat cauliflower as a piece of meat, Bhogal says: “Marinate and roast it whole, or bury it in the pit of a barbecue.” She makes a baste of miso, tahini, honey, ginger, chilli oil and vinegar, which “seeps into the head as it cooks and forms a charred crust”, then serves it sprinkled with sesame seeds and slivers of toasted nori. If you’re going to roast cauliflower whole, though, it’s best to start it off before you put it in the oven, says Chris Lyon, head chef at Nutshell in London, the Iranian restaurant from Marwa Alkhalaf and Mohammad Pakneja. “Remove the outer leaves, score the base and submerge the head in a pot of boiling salted water for a minute,” he says. “Tip it out, let it steam and cool down, then add the marinade.” For flavourings, Lyon naturally looks to Iran and the Middle East: “I’d suggest toasting and blending cardamom, cumin, a little cinnamon, fenugreek and dried mint into a powder and mixing with olive oil.” Rub into the cauliflower, leave to marinate, then pop on a barbecue or bake. “You’ll get these lovely, smoky aromas.”

You could even stay away from heat altogether: “I like cauliflower raw,” says Adrian Luck, chef-owner of Birmingham’s plant-based Land. He finely slices it on a mandoline, then pickles it to put in salads. “Use a basic pickle of salt, sugar and cider vinegar, then add spices such as cumin and coriander.” Cajun spices are a good match for roast florets, Luck says, especially if tacos are on the cards. “You can disguise the cauliflower with a chimichurri, so you may never know it’s even there.” Similarly, Meera Sodha roasts the white stuff with sweet potato, rapeseed oil, ground chipotle, ground cinnamon and salt, before piling on to tortillas with black bean puree and coriander chilli salsa.

Then there’s Yotam Ottolenghi’s curried cauliflower cheese pie. Cheddar-loaded bechamel is spooned into a springform cake tin lined with filo, followed by florets (roasted with curry powder, oil, salt and pepper) and more bechamel. Scrunch the pastry overhang into a “messy border”, brush with melted butter and oil, and bake at 170C fan for 30 minutes. Remove the outer circle of the tin, bake for another 25 minutes until golden, then top with parsley and lemon zest for “happy bellies all around”. Now, you can’t argue with that.

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