A whole roasted cauliflower is a good centrepiece that usually arrives looking like something recovered from a fire. The yoghurt fixes that. It clings, it protects the surface, and it catches into pale golden patches instead of going black.
Crunch on at the end, on top, so the spiced bits stay crisp against the soft yoghurt.
1 hr 10 mins. Serves 4 as a side.
Ingredients
- 1 Cauliflower, whole, leaves left on
- 200g Greek yoghurt, plus more to serve
- 2 tbsp Olive oil
- 1 tsp Ground turmeric
- 1 tsp Ground cumin
- 1 Lemon, zest and juice
- 2 cloves Garlic, grated
- 2 dessertspoons Plateit Bombay Chilli Crunch
- Coriander, a handful
- Salt
Method
- Oven to 190C. Trim the base of the cauliflower flat so it sits up. Leave the leaves on, they char and people fight over them.
- Yoghurt, oil, turmeric, cumin, garlic, lemon zest and a big pinch of salt whisked together. It should be thick enough to cling like paint.
- Cauliflower into a tray. Marinade over it with your hands, right into every gap, and underneath. Do not be delicate about it.
- Foil tented over, 40 mins. It steams through under there.
- Foil off, 25 mins more, until a knife goes into the stem with no resistance and the yoghurt has gone golden and blistered in patches. If it is browning too fast, drop the heat, not the time.
- Lemon juice over. Plateit Bombay Chilli Crunch spooned across the top. Coriander, more yoghurt on the side.
Do this: The yoghurt is not a garnish, it is armour. Roast a cauliflower naked at this heat and the outside is charcoal before the middle is cooked.
