Roasted Cauliflower with Saffron ♥ Recipe

Today's vegetable recipe: Cauliflower roasted with saffron and spices. Low carb. Weight Watchers 1 point.

So. I'm learning a lot about vegetables these days, though -- get this -- by eating, no tasting, no, positively hating oxtails. (Note to Vegetarians)

It all started before Christmas when my friend Sharon had a recipe calling for oxtails and wanted to know what they were. My answer -- and I was wrong, to be sure -- was that oxtails were actually not the tails from beef cattle, even if the words made you think so, sort of like a rump roast is actually a shoulder roast. (Go figure.)

But then last week, oxtail stew was on the tasting menu at a local restaurant and -- being an adventurous eater -- I placed my order, looking forward to a delicacy. But OH MY. YUCK.YUCK.YUCK. Now to be fair, the thinking is that the oxtails were no good, past their due date, shall we say. But with one bite, I was ready to gag and now, even nearly a week later, anything remotely close to unusual is creating the same reaction.

And what does this have to do with vegetables?

Let's say you have a bad experience with frozen Brussels sprouts (or canned asparagus or creamed-all-vegetables or ...). I GET IT. I get that you might not want to try Brussels sprouts again. It's almost reflexive, a defense mechanism of some sort. I get that it could take both time and conditioning to become open-minded again.

Those of us who love vegetables, we understand that 99% of the time, our vegetables are just delicious. If something's not to our taste, we've got enough experience to know that something was off, that the next batch of whatever will be good. But if 100% of your experience is that oxtails Brussels sprouts are rotten stinky things? Well, I get it. It's hard to work up the gumption to return.

---

You will, I think, return again and again to roasted cauliflower, especially the roasted cauliflower made on this site's very first day, almost four years ago now. This treatment uses both a saffron-warmed olive oil and a splash of good vinegar. It's YUM not yuck.

ROASTED CAULIFLOWER with SAFFRON

Hands-on time: 10 minutes up-front plus occasional stirring
Time to table: 45 minutes
Serves 4

1 tablespoon olive oil
Pinch of saffron

1 head cauliflower, cored and cut into small florets
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar (or another flavorful, gentle vinegar)
1 teaspoon dried spices (curry, ras el hanout, I used thyme)
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400F. Combine the oil and saffron in a small bowl, place on top of the oven near the heat source so that the saffron will warm and its flavor will be transferred into the oil.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, toss the remaining ingredients. Just before the oven is preheated, add the warm olive oil and toss well with a spatula. Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet and let roast for about 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so, or until the cauliflower reaches the desired doneness. Transfer to a serving dish, serve and enjoy!

NUTRITION ESTIMATE
Per Serving: 60Cal; 3g Tot Fat; 0g Sat Fat; 0mg Cholesterol; 34mg Sodium; 6g Carb; 3g Fiber; 3g Sugar; 2g Protein; Weight Watchers 1 point

TODAY'S VEGETABLE RECIPE INSPIRATION Adapted from Chocolate & Zucchini's Saffron Roasted Cauliflower

KITCHEN NOTES
It's easier to use less oil for roasting vegetables when they're tossed for the first time in a large bowl, rather than drizzled and then tossed on the baking sheet itself.
That said, for roasted cauliflower to be really good, darn it, more than a tablespoon of oil is needed, much as I wish otherwise, two or three or even four tablespoons.

FAVORITE CAULIFLOWER RECIPES
~ Cauliflower Cream ~
~ Cauliflower Tomato Medley ~
~ Curried Cauliflower ~
~ Lighter Mashed 'Potatoes', from Kitchen Parade ~

~ more cauliflower recipes ~
~ more Weight Watchers recipes ~
~ more low-carb recipes ~

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