Roasted Cauliflower & Red Onion with Honey Ginger Vinaigrette Recipe

This recipe was the fourth in this week’s group and I really wasn’t sure what to make of it. I knew I enjoyed roasted cauliflower, but as for the remainder of the ingredients, I just wasn’t sold on them. Red onion and raisins? Olives and parsley? I had never experienced a flavor profile quite like the one that was described. Luckily, everything worked out well and I truly enjoyed the dish. It was very good.

The original recipe called for the use of saffron. I don’t think I ever tasted this spice and from what I hear, it’s one of the most expensive available. The author of the original recipe instructs to soak the saffron in boiling water and then to infuse the resulting liquid into the cauliflower for roasting. Since I didn’t have any saffron on hand and since I wasn’t about to purchase something so expensive for one mere use, I decided to make things a bit more exciting. In keeping with the theme of the dish, I decided that a wonderful ginger vinaigrette would be more straightforward and would probably even taste better than the saffron. While I can’t say which was better for sure, I can tell you that my version was outstanding. The vinaigrette had some sweetness because of the honey I added as well as some punch from the soy sauce, vinegar and olive oil. I made a good choice in going with that.

The Recipe

This is a really great side dish. The onions and cauliflower soften right up in the oven and they’re basically soaked in the flavorful vinaigrette. The olives add that salty and unique bite that only olives can offer and the raisins give just a bit of extra sweetness that rounds out the entire side. I’m thrilled with the result of this dish and would suggest it for a holiday such as Thanksgiving or Christmas. Just be sure to double or triple up on the ingredients below. It goes fast.

Ingredients

Serves: 4

For the Vinaigrette

2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
2 Tablespoons Rice Vinegar
1 Teaspoon Ground Ginger
1 Tablespoon Honey
1/2 Cup Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper

For the Remainder

1 Large Cauliflower, Cut into Florets
1 Large Red Onion, Trimmed, Peeled and Sliced
2/3 Cup Golden Raisins
1/2 Cup Green Olives
4 Tablespoons Parsley, Chopped

Step-by-Step Instructions

I’d like to thank Yotam Ottolenghi and his incredible resource called Plenty – Vibrant Vegetable Recipes From London’s Ottolenghi for this recipe. As I said above, while I didn’t follow his instructions completely, he was certainly my inspiration for this dish. It’s rather incredible.

Pre-Heat the Oven

Adjust one oven rack so it’s in the center position. Then, pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.

Prep the Ingredients

My first goal was to get as much work out of the way as possible. So, with that in mind, I cut the cauliflower into individual florets, sliced the red onion, measured out the raisins and olives and chopped up the parsley. I took photos of all of this. Take a look below.

Prepare the Vinaigrette

In a medium sized bowl, add the soy sauce, rice vinegar, ground ginger, honey, olive oil, salt and pepper. Whisk these ingredients together well and set the bowl aside for later use.

Combine Ingredients

Add all the ingredients, except for the parsley to a large bowl. This includes the vinaigrette as well.

Mix everything together until the vinaigrette coats all the ingredients in the bowl.

This step infuses the flavor of the vinaigrette into the cauliflower, as I mentioned above. It’s a great idea and it is very tasty when eaten.

Arrange & Roast the Vegetables

Place the contents of the bowl into a casserole and spread everything out evenly.

Cover the casserole with foil and place it in the oven on the center rack. Allow to roast for 45 minutes. After that, remove the dish from the oven and uncover. Sprinkle the chopped parsley over the vegetables. Serve however you would like; on individual plates or place the entire casserole on the table. It’s up to you.

The Final Roasted Cauliflower & Onion Side Dish

Now that I look at the end result, I have to say that I enjoyed the red onions as well. While the cauliflower had tons of flavor because of the vinaigrette, the onions were fairly sweet on their own. Give this recipe a try. If you do, please let me know your thoughts in the comment section down below. Thanks for reading!