Monday, September 8, 2014

Dining solo

I don't have a problem with eating alone per se, it's just that instead of sitting upright at a table, I prefer eating while slumped on the sofa, and what restaurant offers such dining arrangements? (Don't answer that.)

Anyhoo, I was planning dinner for one last night (didn't know whether anyone in my family would be eating in), and thus decided against anything "fiddly".

That's how I wound up roasting an entire head of cauliflower, hacking it up, and mixing it into a cucumber raita* I'd made earlier.

Granted, it sounds fiddly, but you just rub oil on the (rinsed) cauliflower and sprinkle it with salt (and pepper if you like) before putting it in the oven at 200 degrees Celsius for about 1 hour. Here are some of the recipes I vetted before settling on the simplest one:

Roasted cauliflower thing I tried
The oft-cited Bon Appetit recipe
Paleo-friendly version
One that features yoghurt

The fiddliest thing is checking that it doesn't brown too quickly for your liking after 40 minutes (depending on how hot your oven is). Also, if the stem doesn't yield to a knife or fork after 1 hour, then another 15 minutes won't hurt (cover it with foil if starts to look disturbingly dark to you).

After seeing what I'd done, mum asked:

Why did you roast the cauliflower?
Why did you roast the cauliflower whole?
Why did you roast just cauliflower?
Why didn't you cut up the cauliflower?
Where did you get the idea to roast just a head of cauliflower?
May I try some?

Why does a person do anything?

*Mash and mix in a raw garlic glove and you're good to go. Don't forget the salt!

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