How to Roast Cauliflower

By David Hu
A new video for Video Friday

As the weather gets colder, think roasted vegetables. They’re easy to make and give you that warm, wintery feeling. For today's video demo, we're making Spice Roasted Cauliflower, a recipe from Lori Powell, our cooking for one or two blogger.

For this recipe, I like to mix cauliflower colors. Yellow and purple cauliflower are no longer such a novelty; I can find them in my everyday supermarket. The colored heads are great, not only from a presentation standpoint, but for added health benefits.

As we learn from dietitians, bright-colored fruits and vegetables tend to have more nutrients. Lori explains that orange cauliflower has 25 times the beta-carotene of white, and purple cauliflower contains the antioxidant anthocyanin, which is also found in red wine and cabbage.

If you’re looking for a few more ways to roast vegetables, here are a few of my Special Fork top choices:

• Roasted beets
• Roasted asparagus with Parmesan shavings
• Roasted Delicata Squash with Quinoa, Feta and Apple
• Roasted grapes (not really a vegetable but an absolute favorite!)

To get the recipe and shopping list on your smartphone (iPhone, BlackBerry, Android device) or PC, click here.

Spice Roasted Cauliflower

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6 cups (1-inch chunks) cauliflower florets (about 1 small head)
1-1/2 tablespoons capers, rinsed and drained
1-1/2 to 2 tablespoons aged sherry wine vinegar
3 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley

Preheat oven to 425F. Whisk together in a large bowl oil, garlic, cumin, coriander, salt and pepper. Add cauliflower and toss together to coat well. Transfer in one layer to a large foil-lined shallow baking pan.

Roast cauliflower in middle of oven, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and tender, about 20 minutes. Remove pan from oven and toss with capers, vinegar and parsley. Spoon into a serving bowl and serve immediately. Serves 2.

TIPS: For a special date dinner serve with filet mignon (easy to buy just one or two filets in the supermarket) and super-good spuds…fluffy mashed russet potatoes (made with potato cooking liquid and some butter).

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5. California Roast Turkey