Click here for the updated roasted cauliflower recipe.
This recipe happened because my Dad sent me back to Boston with half a head of cauliflower and two cucumbers. I’m not really a cauliflower girl. They’re just so large and… BEIGE. Not a color I prize in the vegetable kingdom. For example, white asparagus also freaks me out, even though it’s supposed to be a delicacy. Delicacy schmelicacy.
Luckily my Williams-Sonoma Vegetable of the Day cookbook saved me. Thanks Lisa for that Christmas gift! For a decade long vegetarian, dem veggies still have me stumped. I could eat carbs all day if I didn’t plan on living ’til age 120 like the good Asian I am.
So, this cookbook had a recipe for caramelized cauliflower with honey and smoked paprika. Well lo and behold, I had just purchased a tin of hot smoked Spanish paprika that very day!
The rest is history. Roast the cauliflower in the most delicious spicy sweet glaze, boil some noodles, julienne a cucumber, eat half the baking tray of roasted cauliflower while waiting for the noodles to cook, then toss it all together and refrigerate. Of course, you could eat the noodles hot too, but I LURVE cold noodles and I had already eaten half the pan of cauliflower…
Anyhoo, with summer coming, this is one delectable chilled dish.
I’m not a good Asian. I ate my bowl of noodles with a fork.
Soba noodles work really well in this recipe. I used gluten free brown rice noodles so that Señor Chompy could have some, but then I only spared ONE cauliflower floret for him. However, he did say it tasted “professional.” What the heck does that mean? “It’s like something I’d eat in a restaurant,” he explained. Okay, fine, I’ll take whatever compliments I can get.
You can use angel hair pasta, spaghettini, or vermicelli if you don’t have soba noodles on hand.
No longer beige! YAY. So spicy, smoky, and tangy. Tossed with crisp cucumber and chewy thin noodles, this is your go-to summer rooftop dish. It’s got that magical combination of sweet, salty, and refreshing.
Click here for the updated roasted cauliflower recipe.
Inspired by Williams-Sonoma Vegetable of the Day
Ingredients
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Wash and cut the cauliflower into florets.
- Whisk spices, habanero extract, honey, oil, and salt together in a mixing bowl. Add cauliflower and mix to coat evenly.
- Spread the cauliflower evenly in a baking dish and pour any remaining liquid on top. Bake for 30 minutes, flipping the cauliflower halfway through.
- After taking the cauliflower out of the oven to cool, boil the noodles according to package instructions or according to taste (usually only 5 minutes for thin noodles), then drain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking and to wash off any sticky starches.
- Add the noodles and cucumber to the baking dish and toss with the cauliflower. There should be enough liquid left in the baking dish to thinly coat the noodles. Serve immediately or refrigerate. I prefer refrigerating it for at least an hour to let all the flavors soak into the noodles and cucumber. Leftovers will keep for a day before the cucumber begins to lose its crispness.
5 comments
Lu: what did u use to julienne the cukes? If I did it by hand i’d be here till the end of time!! i like easy but professional looking!
I used a Zyliss Julienne Peeler – I bought mine at TJ Maxx for $4. I just checked and it’s on Amazon too, but for slightly more.
I just bought 10 beige suits to wear everyday.