Roasted Fennel and Cauliflower

Total Time: 40 - 50 MIN Servings: 2 - 3

Posted by Lily

I happen to live with someone who thinks he doesn’t like fennel. But apparently this recipe doesn’t count as it was half-gone before I made it to the kitchen to see if it was cool enough to eat. Baking cauliflower allows it to transcend the bounds of crunchy veggie and exhausts it into full-on caramelized greatness. Fennel shows up at just the right time to bring it on home with its warm flavorful goodness. When it is cold or raining outside, I necessitate any variation on this bake that I can get.

INGREDIENTS

Bare Minimum
1 medium head cauliflower (about 1 ¼ to 1 ½ pounds) cut into 1-inch florets
1 large fennel bulb (or the equivalent) cut into rounds
¼ cup olive oil
¼ tsp table salt to start
a little less than that of pepper to start

PREPARATION
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

2. Put cauliflower and fennel into a large bowl; drizzle with the oil, salt and pepper (to taste – I like it really peppery to balance the sweet, caramely veggies)

3. Toss with your hands to coat each floret.

4. Place the fennel/cauliflower mixture on a baking sheet and spread out evenly in a single layer. It’s okay if it’s crowded (but use two if it’s crazy crowded).

5. Bake for 10-15 minutes, stir/flip, bake for another 10-15. You want them a bit brown if you can but not totally squishy.

This is freakishly tasty as is….but there are also some variations below you should try too (choose one or the other though, both muddles)

Curry Powder and Corriander Seeds
Add 1/2 teaspoon of curry powder and ½ Tablespoon coriander seeds when
mixing salt, pepper, oil. You can also add 4 small minced or 8 small, peeled, whole garlic cloves. Bake as described above.

Garlic Breadcrumbs
A few slices of bread (or bread product. Can be almost anything and can be old-ish if you need to get rid of it!)
2 tbsp olive oil
¼ cup parmesan
2 tbsp parsley
handful of pinenuts (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Cut about 1/2 cup bread into coarse crumbs

Heat about 2 tbsp olive oil in nonstick skillet (medium heat)

Add the breadcrumbs and stir until they just brown (a couple of minutes)

Toss in a bowl with a handful of pinenuts (optional) and the parsley

After crumbs cool, toss with the parmesan and season with some salt and
pepper.

Sprinkle this mixture on top of the fennel & cauliflower bake 10 - 15 minutes after you stir/flip it around.