Veggies For Carnivores – Coconut Roasted Cauliflower

Having a chance to review a copy of Veggies for Carnivores: Moving Vegetables to the Center of the Plate, I’ll admit it took me awhile to get around to reading it. Mostly it was hard to get excited over vegetables until my gardens started producing, but also for our local farmers market to open. For me, that period between December and June is kind of sad. Out of season produce is so tasteless compared to fresh and locally grown. And if there was a cookbook that deserves fresh, it would be one that is all about vegetables!

Especially if one is talking about roasting cauliflower. Most grocery stores sell just white. Plain. White. Yet, there are gorgeous colors to try. Yellow-Orange?

Intense purple?

A book indeed for in-season, when I can get these treats easily! Roasting cauliflower makes it so delicious  it gets sweet, savory and melts in your mouth. Lora, the author, adds another dimension to the cauliflower by simply spreading virgin coconut oil on the pan. There is something about the golden spots on the vegetable, with the faintest richness of coconut.

And the concept of her book is good – that anyone can love vegetables, not just vegetarians. That going outside of your comfort zone is a good thing. How many people do you know who only eat russet potatoes, maybe carrots and peas and well…that is about it – and unless they get really daring and order sweet potato french fries with their burger…..If one has skills and inspiration, they can eat wonderfully. So, it will give inspiration to even die-hard veggie haters. My only quibble is the layout of the book, ignore it, and enjoy the recipes!

Coconut Roasted Cauliflower (From pages 105-106)

Ingredients:

• 1 head cauliflower
• 1 Tbsp virgin coconut oil
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus more for topping
• Sea salt
• Ground black pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread the coconut oil across the paper.

Core and break up the cauliflower into bite size florets, lay on baking sheet and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. SPread it out in single layer, drizzle a bit more olive oil across.

Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, tossing and stirring occasionally to evenly brown.

Serves 4 as a side dish.

~Sarah

FTC Disclaimer: We received a copy for potential review.