Roasting cauliflower is a transformative experience. My childhood memories of limp, pallid stalks flopping lifelessly on my plate are no more! Instead, roasting gives you crispy darkened edges, deeper flavor, firm flesh that bites back! This all-grown-up cauliflower rendition pairs with pungent south asian spices and a new (to me) way of prepping tofu (with caramelization!). The end result is a party in yo’ mouth full of flavors & textures that will make you forget that you are eating something vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and paleo-friendly!
I love finding ways to trick myself into doing what I’m supposed to do. Sometimes you have to not let your brain or your stomach get in the way of your goals. Sometimes, this requires trickery. Oh, HEY STOMACH! Look at this super pretty dish! OOH doesn’t it look so different and interesting??!! So many textures and colors and flavors! Oh yes, eat it. Eat more of it! SOO GOOD right?? MM hmm. Oh what you ate all that and are full and so happy?! Awesome! Oh…btw, I didn’t feed you any meat or anything bad for you today. GOTCHA! You’ve been Health Ninja’d!
I originally saw this recipe on Pinterest and have made a few modifications based on taste. Go here for the Madras curry spice recipe. It’s REALLY good and worth the extra effort. However if you don’t’ have all those spices laying around, pick out a garam masala or other powdered curry spice as a good backup plan.
- 1 head cauliflower – cut into 1 inch bite size pieces
- 2 cloves garlic
- olive oil
- kosher salt
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp tumeric
- cracked pepper
- 2 C chickpeas
- 1 16 oz block tofu
- pinch brown sugar
- 2-3 TB Madras Curry Spice
- Rice Wine Vinegar
- ½ bunch cilantro
- 1 lemon
- Heat oven to 425 degrees
- Chop the cauliflower into bite sized pieces, slice the garlic into larger chunks, cut the tofu into ½ inch cubes, finely chop cilantro
- Toss cauliflower & garlic with 1.5 TB olive oil, 1 tsp tumeric. Place on lined baking sheet. Scatter 1 tsp cumin seeds over everything and place in oven. Roast for 20-30 min til edges are browned & crispy.
- In a large pan, heat 2-3 TB olive oil and sprinkle some brown sugar, salt & pepper in the pan. Once hot, place the tofu cubes in one layer in the pan and cook on med/high heat. Sprinkle brown sugar, salt pepper on top of tofu and then flip over and cook again until well browned. Remove from pan and let drain on a paper towel lined plate.
- While tofu is cooking, drain chickpeas and place in a small pot to heat up for about 8 min til warm.
- In a large bowl, add roasted cauliflower, caramelized tofu, warmed chickpeas, chopped cilantro. Add 1 TB olive oil, 2 TB rice wine vinegar, juice of 1 lemon and 2-3 TB of Madras curry spice. Toss & taste. Add more salt, pepper, lemon as desired.
