Cauliflower and I didn't have a good relationship until a few years ago, when I made a Pinterest-inspired attempt at a cauliflower crust pizza in college, and it turned out surprisingly really good. Before that, my understanding of cauliflower only existed in those veggie party platters, with the assortment of carrots, cherry tomatoes, broccoli, and then the "white" broccoli as I had called it, paired with some sad version of a ranch dressing dip. Since the pizza crust experiment, my love for cauliflower has expanded tremendously, especially when it is drizzled with olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper, and roasted in the oven until slightly crispy.
Although, I'm pretty much convinced I will eat any vegetable when it is prepared this way!
I have this boring grocery store system where I tend to hover to the same areas, grabbing the same kinds of food, each and every week. Especially when grocery shopping in the tiny and crowded grocery stores in NYC, it's usually best to have a game plan so you can run in and out as fast as you can. Lately though, I've been all about expanding my tastebuds and making weekly dinners more interesting, so I'm trying to try out a new ingredient or vegetable or cooking style as often as I can. When I saw this purple cauliflower while in the winding checkout line at Trader Joes, I knew I had to have it! (I'm very drawn to dramatic colors, you see.)
The hummus in this recipe is so flavorful with the roasted garlic, and it is healthier than chickpea based hummus since it uses cauliflower. Also, it is purple! I mean how fun is that? It's pretty easy because you can roast the garlic and cauliflower at the same time, then throw everything into a processor or blender and eat it immediately or refrigerate for later. I prefer the latter, and then serve it with pita chips or veggies for dipping.
Purple Cauliflower Roasted Garlic Hummus
Ingredients:
- 1 large head of cauliflower, roughly chopped
- 1 head of garlic
- 1/4 cup tahini
- 1/4 cup water
- juice of half a lemon
- 3 tbsp. olive oil
- 1/2 tsp. paprika
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. pepper
Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Peel off most of paper from garlic and slice 1/4 inch off the top of the head of garlic. Drizzle with olive oil and wrap in foil. On a large baking sheet, spread out cauliflower and drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper. Roast garlic and cauliflower in preheated oven for 40 minutes, flipping cauliflower halfway through.
Remove garlic cloves from outer paper wrapping. Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Spoon onto a plate and drizzle with more olive oil, top with salt and pepper, and a little bit of cauliflower.
