Cauliflower cheese scones
These are best eaten warm from the oven, spread with salted butter and a generous dollop of Dijon mustard.
Preparation 15 minutes
Cook 45 minutes
makes As regards 10 (depending on the size of the cutter)
400 g cauliflowerbroken into florets of about 1½ cm
Salt and peppertaste
2 tbsp olive oil
450 g self-raising flour
110 g butter (unsalted or salted, to taste), very cold and grated (or diced into small cubes), plus extra to serve
160 g cheddar (or similar), grated
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmegor to taste
1 eggbeaten
200 ml milk
Dijon mustardto serve
Preheat oven to 220C (200 Fan)/425F/Gas 7. Arrange cauliflower in an even layer on a roasting tray, season generously and drizzle with olive oil. Roast for 20-25 minutes, until soft and nice in color, remove from oven and let cool.
Place the flour and butter in a large bowl and use your fingertips to mix into fine breadcrumbs. (You can also use a food processor, pulse in short, sharp bursts, then transfer to a bowl.)
Add the cheese to the dough mixture and season well with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Add the roasted cauliflower and stir to combine.
Beat the egg and milk in a small pitcher, then stir all but two tablespoons of the mixture into the flour bowl (try not to work the dough too much). Stir everything together quickly and with as little mixing as possible, then transfer to a lightly floured surface and carefully roll out to a thickness of about 4 cm.
Cut circles out of the dough with an 8 cm cutter; for the final scone, collect the scraps, roll them together, then slice (don’t worry if it’s a little scrappy). Using a pastry brush, brush the top of the scones with the reserved egg and milk mixture.
Bake for about 15 minutes, until risen and lightly golden, then remove and let cool on a wire rack for at least five minutes before serving with butter and mustard.
Whipped cauliflower with tahini and lemon
This super soft, creamy cauliflower is the perfect canvas for pumpkin seeds, feta and mint. Serve with flatbreads to mop up.
Preparation 10 minutes
Cook 15 minutes
Serves 4 as a light lunch or starter
800 g cauliflowerbroken into little roses
salt and black peppertaste
2 cloves of garlicpeeled and halved
½ tsp ground cumin
1 heaping tablespoon of tahini
juice of 1 lemon
60ml olive oilplus extra to serve
50 grams of pumpkin seeds
100 g fetaroughly crumbled
½ small forest coinleaves picked and roughly chopped
flatbreadsto serve
Boil the cauliflower in well-salted water for five to eight minutes until tender, drain and allow to cool slightly. Place the cauliflower in a food processor or blender, add the garlic, cumin, 50 ml cold water, tahini and lemon juice and blend. Add all but a tablespoon of olive oil and mix again to combine. Season well and add more lemon, tahini, cumin or olive oil if you think it’s necessary (it should be strongly flavored). Spoon onto a large serving platter and spread over the surface.
In a small saucepan over medium heat, heat the remaining olive oil, then add the pumpkin seeds and a pinch of salt and toast, stirring, until the seeds pop and have some color.
Sprinkle the roasted seeds over the cauliflower, sprinkle with feta and mint and drizzle with a little more oil. Serve with warm flatbreads.
Cauliflower ‘scallops’ with salt and malt vinegar
I took the idea of frying scallops and applied it to cauliflower stalks and their pale leaves, battered and fried to serve with a generous pinch of salt and drizzled liberally with malt vinegar.
Preparation 5 minutes
Cook 15 minutes
Serves 4 as a side
400 g cauliflower stems and leaves (roses also work here)
150 g self-raising flour
50 g cornflour
250 ml sparkling water
Vegetable or sunflower oilto fry
Saltytaste
malt vinegartaste
Cut the cauliflower stalks into 1 cm thick pieces. Cook the chopped cauliflower stems and leaves in well-salted boiling water until tender – 30 seconds to a minute for the leaves and two minutes for the stems – drain and let them steam dry.
Then make a batter: Place the two flours in a large bowl, whisk in the carbonated water in a thin, steady stream until smooth and set aside.
Fill a medium, high-sided pan one-third full with neutral cooking oil and heat to 180C (use a digital thermometer or test by placing a small cube of bread in it – it should sizzle and turn brown and crisp within 30 seconds).
Dip the blanched cauliflower in the batter and, working in batches of two or three pieces at a time, drop gently into the hot oil – it will sizzle. Bake for about one and a half to two minutes, until crisp and golden, then lift with a slotted spoon or spider and drain on paper towels. Repeat with the remaining cauliflower and batter, sprinkle with salt and a good splash of malt vinegar and serve immediately.
