Bay Leaf and Saffron-Roasted Cauliflower
Serves 4.
Note: Serve this as is, or toss it into pasta and drizzle a little olive oil over it all (shells work well). This also suits colorful cauliflower (purple, orange) or romanesco. From "A Modern Way to Eat," by Anna Jones.
• 2 pinches saffron strands
• 1 large or 2 small cauliflowers, leaves broken off, head broken into medium florets, stalk roughly chopped
• 2 medium onions, peeled and finely sliced
• Crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
• 3 bay leaves
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Handful of raisins (golden ones are especially nice)
• Handful of almonds, roughly chopped
• Bunch of fresh parsley, roughly chopped
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Put saffron into a little bowl, cover it with a couple of teaspoons of boiling water and let steep.
Get a large, deep baking tray; add cauliflower, onions, chile flakes and bay leaves, and season with salt and pepper. Once saffron has steeped, pour in the saffron strands and their liquid, add the raisins and almonds, toss everything together, then cover the tray with foil and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
Remove the foil and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes until the tips are burnished and the cauliflower is tender. Add the chopped parsley, toss and serve.
