One of my favourite things to cook for relatively cheap with a bit of pizzaz and boujee-ness, is the Miznon (Baby) Cauliflower, which retails for a whopping $24 if you go eat at the Miznon restaurant in the CBD!
Right now, you can get a whole head of cauliflower for $4.20 at Coles (less if you get it at your local Grocers – I’d like to say I paid about $2 or max $3 for mine).
Make sure the cauliflower you buy fits into your biggest pot at home! You do not need to buy a “baby” cauliflower for this.
Ingredients required: cauliflower, salt, and olive oil (EVOO nice to have, but not necessary)
Method:
- Boil the whole head of cauliflower in salted water, leaves attached for 10 to 15 minutes or until tender. You do not need fancy salt to boil it in even if the original Miznon recipe says so – table salt is fine! You’ll know it’s ready if you insert a knife or fork and it slides in easily. And if you let it boil for a little longer, it’ll be fine – it’ll just be much more fragile to handle.
- Once ready, drain and let it cool down. By letting it cool down for 15 to 30 mins, this will allow its surface to dry out a bit more, so it doesn’t get steamed, but rather roasted when you pop it in the oven.
- While your oven is heating to the highest temp possible, rub-a-dub-dub your cauliflower with olive oil and sprinkle some salt on top. And yes, you can use your hands if you don’t have a brush (or even if you have a brush, less cleaning to do!) At this stage, if you have fancy salt, use this for your sprinkling. If you don’t, no worries, normal salt is fine too.
- Once your oven is hot, pop it in and let it cook until the cauliflower is a gorgeous beautiful charred, goldy-brownish deliciousness. Baking paper optional. This can take anywhere between 5 minutes or 20 minutes depending on your oven, but it will be super tender at this stage so handle with care!
- Serve with additional olive oil and a sprinkle of salt if needed. Also tastes fantastic with hummus but it’s genuinely great on its own or as a side.
