The recipes that aren’t

Many people think that cooking should employ recipes where exact measurements and timing make the ingredients to a tasty dish.  But those who have tried and enjoyed my dishes also know that I don’t use a recipe. Actually, I can’t. The few times I tried to follow a recipe it turned to be a disaster. I knew it would be because it didn’t agree with my senses. So next time using the same ingredients I just followed my instincts. And because of that I don’t bake. Baking requires following recipes, and I admire those who can.

The “recipes” I will include here are actually not. They are just directional. I’d like to encourage you to use your senses of colour, quantity, quality and amount without measurements. Even if it doesn’t work the first time try it again and it will probably work at the end. Start with simple things. I make my “recipes” as I go. I believe in colours and presentation. You need a few different colours either as main ingredients or added as decoration on top of the dish. Green, red and white, will do. If for example you are making a leafy green salad as a base, add a few little red tomatoes and feta cheese on the top and there you have it. You may want to add a few black olives as decoration too. Peppers of different colours will do the same job.

So, let’s start with one of the dishes that made it to our Christmas table this year. I call it Roasted Cauliflower, but if you have a better idea, please let me know.

Cauliflower, broccoli and brussels sprouts are from the same cabbage family – Cruciferous vegetables. This time of the year there are usually at least a few varieties of cauliflower available on the market – the regular white one, green, yellow, purple and the Romanesco one that resembles a Christmas tree. I will write more about my Xmas decorations and the presence of these cauliflowers in them later.

Roasted Cauliflower

Longer version:

The ingredients have everything to do with colours. This time I used:

White cauliflower – a head

Romanesco cauliflower – a head

Broccoli – 2 or 3 heads depending on the size, but has to be more or less the same quantity as a head of cauliflower.

A bowl of mushrooms – I used brown cremini, again for the color, but they also taste better to me. Quantity – more or less as much as a head of cauliflower.

A bowl of cherry or grape tomatoes.

Salt, and thyme will be enough as seasoning. I usually add pepper. But if you have sage, rosemary or oregano you can add them too. You can also add garlic, which I love. It will create an edge to the dish. So will some dry chilli flakes.  For my Xmas dish I used salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.

Pare the cauliflowers and the broccoli into florets and cut the mushrooms in quarters. The proper way would be to toss the ingredients with the seasoning and olive oil and then arrange them in the pan. My easy way?

I oil the pan and arrange the cauliflowers and broccoli in stripes: At the ends are the green – the broccoli and the Romanesco. In the middle is the white cauliflower. Throw the mushrooms evenly over and then the little tomatoes on the top. Salt, pepper and season them lightly and drizzle with olive oil. All is ready for the oven.

Now, I have difficulty recommending time that suits every oven, so you probably have to watch them after 20 min. I put my upper (small) oven of the Gemini I have on 400F (200C) and roast them about 20 to 30 min, watching the last 10 min. You have to know your oven, since no two ovens are the same. If you see the dish burning too fast, simply reduce the temperature to 350F.

Shorter version:

Too many words above, but really it boils down to: Select a few different colours of cauliflowers, add some mushrooms and little tomatoes, season with preferred seasoning, drizzle with olive oil and roast for about 30min at about 400F. Simple!

Another version of the same idea is on the photo above. In this pan I have Romanesco and purple cauliflower, broccoli and grape tomatoes. I used garlic and chilli pepper flakes (the red dots one can see on the top. If you can’t tolerate spicy, you can also garnish with pomegranate seeds.