Roasted Curry Cauliflower

{Roasted curry cauliflower}

I was craving Indian food the other day, but since I just spent nearly an entire paycheck on repairs for my baby blue beamer, I decided to try to improvise in the kitchen. I recently bought an abundance of cauliflower (which I turned into smashed cauliflower last week), and I had eaten a delicious, tender curry cauliflower at one of our business lunches. Why not embark on Indian cuisine? - I thought (even though I had never tried anything of the sort before...).

{Curry powder, coriander seed, smoked paprika, chili powder}

It's all about the spices with this recipe. You definitely need to have all the spices in order to make this cauliflower as tender, juicy, and flavorful as possible.

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.

Ingredients
1 head of cauliflower
4 heads minced garlic
2 TBSP curry powder
1 1/2 TBSP coriander seed
1 TBSP smoked paprika
1 TBSP chili powder
1 TBSP salt
1 TBSP pepper
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

{Rinse and cut cauliflower florets}

First you want to rinse and cut your cauliflower head into florets. Dry them off and set them aside to make sure that all of the water is washed off or else it gets pretty diluted. It doesn't matter if you cut your cauliflower into longer stems, just make sure the florets aren't super thick, or else the marinade will not be as strong.

{Homemade curry sauce}

Whisk together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, and all of the spices aside from the salt and the pepper. Mince up your garlic and whisk it in with the rest of the marinade.

{Marinaded curry cauliflower}

Toss your cauliflower with the marinade in a large bowl. You want to toss it enough times so that the marinade will stick to your cauliflower and turn it a reddish-orange color. If it seems too gritty, add a little bit more olive oil. If it seems too thick, add a little bit more red wine vinegar. This is not a science, but it's important to make sure you sauce has the right consistency.

{Curry cauliflower on a cookie sheet}

Line your cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Spread out your cauliflower so that it will cook evenly and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Roast your cauliflower for 35-40 minutes tossing it 2-3 times while you're roasting it. If the marinade seems too liquid to begin with, don't fret - it will thicken as you roast it! When you rotate and toss your cauliflower mid-roast, make sure to cover it in the sauce as much as possible. We want the flavors to permeate the cauliflower which will turn into a delicious little sponge as you roast it and it becomes tender.

{Roasted, tender and delicious}

The end result should be golden and tender enough to pierce it with a fork. The more tender the better in my opinion, but a lot of people like their roasted veggies a little bit al dente. This meal is not only healthy, but also it's one of those warming dishes that really gives a new definition to comfort food.