Roasted Cauliflower with Black Olives and Cheese
By Adriana Zanchi
Growing up, the only way I knew cauliflower existed was boiled, and for a long time. I didn’t like it very much. But roasted cauliflower? That is a whole other thing!
Ingredients (serves 2 people)
1 head of white or green cauliflower
2 whole garlic cloves, unpeeled
Extra virgin olive oil
500 gr cured black olives (Kalamata are nice for the dish)
Salt and black pepper, to taste
30 gr of grated Parmigiano
150 gr of mozzarella or halloumi, torn into chunks
A handful of breadcrumbs
Method
Preheat the oven to 180˚C (or fan 160°C / gas mark 4).
Prepare the cauliflower by separating the florets with your hands and with the help of a knife. Trim and chop the stem into cubes. Bring a pot of salted water to the boil and cook the cauliflower for about 5 minutes, it should still be crunchy on the inside and softer inside, then drain.
Prepare the olives by removing the pit and chopping them in half.
Drizzle some olive oil in a large roasting tin or tray (or use two if you don’t have a big one), spread the cauliflower out in the roasting dish, scatter the black olives and the garlic cloves. Remember not to peel the garlic: the skin will help the cloves become nice, soft and fudgy.
Add more olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Careful with the salt as the olives and the cheese can be quite salty too.
Top with mozzarella or halloumi and then the grated Parmigiano followed by the breadcrumbs.
Bake for about 20-30 minutes until the top is nice and golden. Turn the grill on for a couple of minutes for an extra crispy top! Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes and Variations
- If you’d like to make a dairy free version of this dish, you can replace it with vegan cheese if you like it. However, you can also leave out the cheese and add instead sundried tomatoes, capers and pine nuts to give that salty rich flavour that would be otherwise missing.
- Instead of cauliflower you can use broccoli or Brussels sprouts.
- Don’t throw away the cooked garlic cloves! Peel and spread on bread.
