| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 30 min |
| Prep: | 15 min |
| Cook: | 15 min |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 medium head cauliflower (about 1 1/2 pounds)
- 1/2 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon whole coriander seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon dried orange peel
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
Instructions
- Position an oven rack approximately 4 inches from the broiler and preheat to the high broil setting.
- Rinse and trim any green leaves from the head of the cauliflower, leaving as much of the center stalk as possible. Lay the head, stem up, on a cutting board and cut in half from top to bottom. Lay each half on its side and cut in half again. Slice each quarter pie style into wedges, so that a piece of core holds each wedge together and the outer edge thickness is not more than 3/4-inch thick. Lay the cauliflower onto a cooling rack set inside a half sheet pan and cover with aluminum foil, leaving one end open.
- Crush together the cumin, coriander, mustard, orange peel, turmeric, and fenugreek in a small ramekin using the end of a rolling pin. Place the oil in a large metal measuring cup or 1-quart saucepan and set over high heat until it shimmers. Immediately remove from the heat, add to the spice mixture, and steep for 5 minutes.
- Place the sheet pan into the oven and carefully pour in the water, seal the foil opening, and broil for 6 minutes. Remove the foil and brush the cauliflower with half of the seasoned oil. Sprinkle with 3/4 teaspoon salt. Return to the oven and broil until browned, another 5 to 10 minutes. Turn the cauliflower over and brush with the remaining oil and sprinkle with the remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt. Return to the oven and broil until browned, another 5 to 10 minutes. Serve immediately.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 4 servings |
| Calories | 289 |
| Total Fat | 28 g |
| Saturated Fat | 2 g |
| Carbohydrates | 9 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 4 g |
| Sugar | 3 g |
| Protein | 4 g |
| Cholesterol | 0 mg |
| Sodium | 601 mg |
Reviews
In my quest to eat more variety of veggies I decided to try this. Being a confirmed “cauliflowerphobic” it was a real leap of faith. Who knew that such a gnarly looking vegetable could be so tasty? I used coconut oil which worked great, and I like the flavor. After turning the cauliflower to brown the second side under the broiler, sprinkle just a little grated parm or whatever cheese you like to brown up with it – hoo ha, delish!! From “cauliflowerphobic” to “cauliflowerphile.”
really good. i used fresh orange peel. i am not an easy grader. a beautiful way to soften cauliflower without boiling and losing nutrients.
I used lemon peel instead of orange peel. I had all the spices in ground form, which did not make for as strong of a flavor but it was a very good dish. I think that next time, I will use more spices if I only have pre-ground spices. Also, I like my cauliflower roasted outright so I didn’t bother making thin wedges suspended over water. I cut it into large chunks and didn’t have substantial moisture loss by the time it was cooked to my liking, probably because I coated the pieces liberally and the oil helped retain the moisture.
I just used a tablespoon of oil and roasted this with the seeds. I usually love stuff like this – it was good, but had a bit of a bitter taste.
Great taste. I am Indian and like the baked version of this curried cauliflower. It is a pleasant change for the regular cauliflower curry that I eat. I had all the spices and used fresh orange peel since I did not have any dried peel.
I just used the spice mixture, sprinkled it on the cauliflower with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roasted it in the oven at around 400. Excellent. I did not use the orange peel. Who the heck has orange peel hanging around? I always have fenugreek, I have never had dried orange peel in my house. Roasted cauliflower with just salt and pepper is good too if you’ve never tried it. Get some dark brown going on that cauliflower….
This recipe transformed my opinion of cauliflower. After trying it, I went out and bought two more to make the recipe again. I won’t be cooking cauliflower any other way for a very long time. It is excellent.
This recipe was outstanding – the cauliflower was perfectly tender yet still had texture. Alas, because I could not find fenugreek anywhere around me, I resorted to using an authentic curry powder mixture whose ingredients were all-natural and included all of the spices Alton lists in his recipe save the dried orange peel. Because the spice blend was fresh, I got really good results, but I wouldn’t try this with something that’s been in your cupboard for three years.
It should be noted that there might be some confusion about which side of your baking sheet to leave the foil loose on – one of the LONG sides, and be sure that that side faces you when you put it in the oven (the Good Eats episode that features this recipe is explicit about this, but the recipe is more ambiguous.
This recipe is superb – you owe it to yourself to try it!