Carrot

Pimenton Roasted Cauliflower

by:
June  5, 2012
4
7 Ratings
Pimenton Roasted Cauliflower
Photo by James Ransom
  • Serves 4
Author Notes

Spanish flavors abound in this recipe, from fruity olive oil, garlic and pine nuts, to the smoky flavor of Pimenton de la Vera and Spanish chorizo. This is a fabulously easy and creative one-pan, weeknight meal, and leftovers are a perfect lunch. Lots of veggies, healthy oils, nuts and flavor. Add a fried or poached egg on top if you want a little extra protein. —bonbonmarie

Test Kitchen Notes

Bonbonmarie definitely came up with a "bon" recipe here and Spanish flavors are certainly abound as described. Toasty cumin, spicy chorizo and the crispy broiled cauliflower came together well. The egg in the picture isn't in the recipe, but I served it with an egg nonetheless. I subbed in spicy paprika instead of sweet, because I'm a big fan of heat. I can imagine it to be delicious either way! —Food52

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1 head cauliflower, about 2 1/4 pounds, including any good ribs and leaves
  • 5 cloves garlic, peeled and cut in half the long way
  • 1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, to taste
  • 1 tablespoon Pimenton de la Vera (I use dulce)
  • 1 teaspoon freshly toasted and ground cumin seed
  • 1/4 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion, cut in 1-inch wedges
  • 2 medium carrots, grated (large grate)
  • 2 ounces Spanish chorizo, cut into small pieces.
  • 1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted in a dry pan
  • 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
  • 1/2 - 1 fresh lemon
Directions
  1. Remove leaves and ribs from cauliflower, and if fresh and tasty looking, chop up roughly and set aside for later. If this part is nasty and beat up, give it to your chickens or compost!
  2. Chop cauliflower florets and stems into 1/2-3/4" pieces. Place on a rimmed 1/2 sheet baking pan. Place slivered garlic into pan with cauliflower. Drizzle generously with olive oil, add all spices, and mix together. Place in oven at broil for about 7 to 10 minutes, until cauliflower are toasting.
  3. Remove from oven. Add onions and cauliflower leaves/ribs and toss to coat. Return to oven for 3 to 5 minutes. Be more vigilant now. You want the vegetables toasty but not too soft. Remove from oven.
  4. Toss in the grated carrots, pine nuts, chorizo and parsley and combine. Salt and pepper and squeeze of lemon to taste. Serve as a side or a main dish.
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  • Tanya Collins Maxwell
    Tanya Collins Maxwell
  • LANIE
    LANIE
  • Matthew Bounous
    Matthew Bounous
  • halfsheetpan
    halfsheetpan
  • M.McAwesome
    M.McAwesome

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31 Reviews

Akané
Akané July 22, 2024
This was delicious! I could eat the whole cauliflower in one go. 😋
I omitted chorizo but it was still very satisfying.
This will be my winter staple for sure.
 
Eileen F.
Eileen F. December 17, 2021
I had to make a few substitutions of what I had on hand, but it was delicious. (Pimenton is smoked paprika.) Pancetta, rendered of fat first, for the chorizo, as suggested below; pecans for the pine nuts. Added the onion and julienned the carrots, then added both and broiled altogether. Broiling makes this faster than roasting.
An interesting combination of flavors and textures.
 
Ceege
Ceege June 17, 2019
@ Tanya.......you BROIL the veggies in your oven. That is why there is no temperature listed. Broilers do not have temp gauges.
 
Tanya C.
Tanya C. June 10, 2019
No temp listed and I was right at the point of roasting. TOTAL DISAPPOINTMENT!!!
 
Tanya C.
Tanya C. June 10, 2019
No temp listed. FAIL!!!
 
SHW
SHW November 5, 2017
Is the chorizo not cooked?
 
bonbonmarie
bonbonmarie October 11, 2020
Spanish chorizo is a cured sausage. If you use Mexican chorizo you would definitely have to cook it first since it’s a raw pork product. Mexican chorizo would give you a different tasting result, but would probably be delicious also.
 
LANIE
LANIE April 23, 2017
One of my favourites from food52. This is sooo good. I've used the same method with broccoli too and turned out great. Thanks for sharing this!
 
bonbonmarie
bonbonmarie October 11, 2020
Thanks Lanie! I’ll have to give broccoli a go. The two are neck and neck in my favorite vegetable race!
 
Matthew B.
Matthew B. January 13, 2015
This is a great recipe with a fantastic depth of flavor. I would recommend at least a touch of acid because it hit at the front and back of my mouth with salt and spice, respectively. However, it missed in the middle. A drizzle of sherry vinegar brightened it up quite wonderfully. Thank you for the recipe!
 
bonbonmarie
bonbonmarie February 1, 2016
You're absolutely right! I usually squeeze a lemon over after roasting. Forgot to put that in the recipe! I will add.
 
halfsheetpan
halfsheetpan April 19, 2014
Amount of parsley is 1.3 cups or 1/3 cup?
 
bonbonmarie
bonbonmarie May 14, 2014
good eye, ThreeCatPat; 1/3c.
 
AndiMor
AndiMor February 9, 2014
I've just made this dish for dinner for my husbsnd and I, and we both absolutley loved it! With the pimenton I also added a little sprincle of chilli powder and we had fried eggs on top.
All in all this is a delicious dish!
 
kgmom
kgmom February 5, 2014
Great recipe, we really enjoyed it. Used 2/3 dolce pimenton, and 1/3 hot pimonton. I sautéed the chorizo to render some of the fat. Stirred in some chopped olives with the pine nuts and parsley. I served it over short grain brown rice cooked in canned tomatoes in place of water along with some paella seasoning.
 
M.McAwesome
M.McAwesome December 3, 2013
Making this with all sorts of subs tonight to clean out my veggie drawer. Sounds delicious! I am going to serve it over pasta.
 
Barb
Barb November 14, 2013
This doesn't seem like it cooks long enough, especially once the onions are added. Can anyone comment? I might just try high heat roasting rather than broiling and increase the time.
 
EmilyC
EmilyC November 14, 2013
Hi Barb, I was skeptical too about the cooking time, and of course it'll be dependent on your broiler, but I found it to be pretty accurate. I'd recommend going the broiler route to see what you think. As much as I love roasting cauliflower, I found broiling to be a nice change.
 
Barb
Barb November 14, 2013
Thanks Emily, I'll go for it!
 
Barb
Barb November 15, 2013
Emily you were right, this came out fantastic! I did put the onions in at the beginning, though. Thanks for the advice.
 
bonbonmarie
bonbonmarie December 5, 2013
My oven has a high and low broil options, and EmilyC is right on about difference from one broiler to the next. I broil at the top rack--very close to the gas. It's fast and you have to be vigilant. Hope it worked for you on your second time around, Barb!
 
luvcookbooks
luvcookbooks November 6, 2013
Made this last week and it was well received, thanks!
 
ESA
ESA October 27, 2013
Immediately after sending my question I realized the answer to my question! I've been told if one can read, one can be successful! Thanks.
 
ESA
ESA October 27, 2013
So, where is the Dulce used?
 
calendargirl
calendargirl October 27, 2013
I see it in step 2, third sentence: "...add all spices..."
 
Ceege
Ceege October 27, 2013
I have been looking for a new (but unique) veggie dish for this coming Thanksgiving. I believe I have found the answer. And thanks to calendargirl for the suggestion of using pancetta if I can't find the chorizo. Will comment back after thanksgiving to let you all know how this dish turned out. Thanks for a yummy sounding recipe.
 
calendargirl
calendargirl October 27, 2013
Ceege, hope you will like it as much as we do. I forgot to mention that I doubled the amount of sausage/pancetta, to good effect. Of course if you were going vegetarian, you could just omit it but I think it adds a nice kick. I sauteed it separately, which the recipe doesn't mention, before adding it in at the end.
 
bonbonmarie
bonbonmarie October 28, 2013
I hope you like it Ceege!
 
calendargirl
calendargirl October 27, 2013
This is our new favorite cauliflower preparation. We've had it with white cauliflower and hazelnuts in place of pine nuts, and with purple cauliflower and red onion. Each version was terrific. I've found it easiest to mix the cauliflower, oil and spices in a large bowl before turning everything onto the sheet pan for roasting. And chopped pancetta subs beautifully if there is no chorizo on hand. Thanks so much for this!
 
bonbonmarie
bonbonmarie October 28, 2013
Great ideas, calendargirl! I am so glad you like it. I think pancetta sounds delicious too, even if I can easily get my hands on chorizo. It sounds like you're a kitchen experimenter, and this recipe lends itself to so many spice combinations, depending on your mood and accompaniments. I often do a cumin/turmeric/curry/golden raisin/cilantro/cashew version. Let me know what else you come up with!
 
calendargirl
calendargirl October 28, 2013
Yum! Love the sound of golden raisins with cashews and cilantro. I will report on results of further experimentation.