10 Oct Roasted Cauliflower with Dates & Pistachios

Posted at 00:00h in Recipes by

This week’s recipe was inspired by a recipe I saw in a recent issue of Food & Drink magazine. The recipe was Roasted Cauliflower Wedges with Figs, Olives, and Pine Nuts. Intrigued, I really wanted to give this a try. There was this small issue that I didn’t have any figs, olives or pine nuts on hand, and I really prefer my cousin Anne’s version of vinaigrette, so I guess the only thing the magazine version had in common with mine is the cauliflower!

My standard approach is to always start with what I have on hand. So, with a beautiful head of cauliflower from our recent organic delivery service (thank you, Crystal and Greg!) and a pantry well stocked with dates and pistachios, I got to work.

As mentioned above, whenever a recipe calls for vinaigrette, I always do some variation (meaning nothing is measured) of my cousin Anne’s recipe I learned many years ago.

The magazine recipe suggests cutting your cauliflower in half, then cut each half into 4 wedges.

This recipe is pretty easy, and we loved the combination of roasted vegetables, sweet and salty, and chewy and crunchy….it was a party!

Roasted Cauliflower Wedges with Dates and Pistachios

Cousin Anne’s Balsamic Vinaigrette (I measured this time)

1 tablespoon Balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon maple syrup
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 clove garlic – minced

1 head of cauliflower – leaves removed, cut in half, then each half cut in 4

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic – minced
salt and pepper

1/4 cup chopped dates
1/4 cup chopped roasted and lightly salted pistachios

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Make dressing by whisking all ingredients together. Place cauliflower wedges on parchment-lined (please, not waxed paper!) rimmed baking sheet. Brush cauliflower with olive oil and garlic mixture. Season with salt and pepper as desired. Roast 20 minutes, flipping wedges over after 10 minutes. They should be lightly browned and tender. Place wedges on serving platter. Drizzle with vinaigrette and sprinkle dates and pistachios over cauliflower. Serve immediately and enjoy!