“roasted cauliflower dip” by jenn kosar
I first made this one over Memorial Day weekend, the perfect snack for mom and dad after a long, hard day lounging at the pool with the kids. It is now a staple in our house and a regular feature in my entertaining arsenal. While I first enjoyed it on an unseasonably warm early summer day with a glass of buttery chardonnay, it also works perfectly at a Halloween gathering or a holiday event, paired with a light red wine.
“pepitas” by jenn kosar
I am a big fan of food survival strategies – tricks that keep us eating healthy (most) of the time, without too much effort. I leverage this recipe into a mid-week side dish or lunch option. Apparently, that is now known as “nextovers”. A few other tweaks from me altered the ingredient list and preparation a bit from the original. Here’s how I did it.
Roasted Cauliflower and Garlic Dip with Toasted Pepitas
original recipe at brooklynsupper.com
total time 55 minutes start to table
ingredients
8 cups cauliflower florets, chopped into bite-size pieces
2 heads of garlic, broken into cloves, skin left on and root end trimmed
6 tablespoons good olive oil plus 1-2 extra teaspoons finishing olive oil, divided
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice [about 1/2 lemon]
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
6 tablespoons pepitas [buy them already roasted and salted at Whole Foods or other high-end grocery store]
2-3 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
Sea salt
Finishing salt [your choice – I used my homemade meyer lemon infused salt]
Cayenne pepper, to taste
Whole-grain pita chips for serving
preparation
Preheat oven to 425°F and prepare two sheet pans lined with aluminum foil for easy clean up.
Arrange cauliflower on pans, evenly split between the two. Add garlic cloves, evenly split between the two sheets. Drizzle each sheet with 1 tablespoon of olive oil [I used Lucini] and sprinkle generously with sea salt. Toss each batch, taking a moment to “tuck” the garlic cloves behind the florets where you can, as they will cook a bit faster than the cauliflower and are prone to burning. Roast the cauliflower for about 40 minutes, flipping and rotating the sheets halfway through [note: my cooking time was considerably longer than the original recipe, principally because I doubled the batch. You all know oven times vary wildly, so keep an eye on it and take it out when the tips of the florets just start to brown.] Set aside to cool.
“purple garlic and cauliflower” by jenn kosar
When cool to the touch, squeeze the roasted garlic out of its paper and onto the cauliflower. Throw one sheet pan’s worth into the storage container of your choice [I love glass Snapware] and use for lunch, side dish, or snack during the week. Put the contents of the second sheet pan into your food processor bowl and pulse for a few rounds to mix the cauliflower and garlic. Add 3 tablespoons of the pepitas, the lemon juice, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper [I used about 1/8 teaspoon]. With the food processor running, add 4 tablespoons of olive oil [you can add more or less to adjust the texture of the dip – I thought 4 was the perfect level of creamy]. Taste and add additional salt, cayenne or lemon juice as needed.
“pepitas, lemon and nutmeg” by jenn kosar
Spoon dip into a wide serving bowl. As I did not add additional salt in the processing phase, I sprinkled some of my homemade meyer lemon infused salt as a finishing salt – but any “good” salt of your choice will do. Drizzle with 1-2 teaspoons of your best finishing olive oil. In my case I still used the Lucini, but this would also be yummy with a garlic or lemon infused olive oil, or any kind you love. Sprinkle the remaining pepitas and parsley on top; extra pepitas added a nice subtle crunch to the dip. A dash of cayenne pepper sprinkled on top for color also signals it as an ingredient to guests. [I think this is extra important if you like to make your dip a little on the hot side; my ratios above are mild, so for me it was just about making it pretty.] Serve with dipping agent of your choice; I used pita chips on a lazy summer afternoon, but it would be amazing with freshly warmed flat bread in cooler months.
photo by Jenn Kosar
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Brooklyn Supper's Roasted Cauliflower and Garlic Dip with Toasted Pepitas
Ingredients
- 8 cups cauliflower florets chopped into bite-size pieces
- 2 heads of garlic broken into cloves, skin left on and root end trimmed
- 6 tablespoons good olive oil plus 1-2 extra teaspoons finishing olive oil divided
- 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice about half of a lemon
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 6 tablespoons pepitas buy them already roasted and salted at Whole Foods or other high-end grocery store
- 2-3 tablespoons fresh parsley minced
- Sea salt
- Finishing salt try a meyer lemon infused sea salt
- Cayenne pepper to taste
- Whole-grain pita chips for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F and prepare two sheet pans lined with aluminum foil for easy clean up.
- Arrange cauliflower on pans, evenly split between the two. Add garlic cloves, evenly split between the two sheets. Drizzle each sheet with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle generously with sea salt.
Toss each batch, taking a moment to "tuck" the garlic cloves behind the florets where you can, as they will cook a bit faster than the cauliflower and are prone to burning.
Roast the cauliflower for about 40 minutes, flipping and rotating the sheets halfway through, until florets are just beginning to brown. Set aside to cool. - When cool to the touch, squeeze the roasted garlic out of its paper and onto the cauliflower.
Throw one sheet pan's worth into the storage container of your choice [I love glass Snapware] and use for lunch, side dish, or snack during the week.
Put the contents of the second sheet pan into your food processor bowl and pulse for a few rounds to mix the cauliflower and garlic. Add 3 tablespoons of the pepitas, the lemon juice, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper [I used about 1/8 teaspoon].
With the food processor running, add 4 tablespoons of olive oil [you can add more or less to adjust the texture of the dip - I thought 4 was the perfect level of creamy]. Taste and add additional salt, cayenne or lemon juice as needed. - Spoon dip into a wide serving bowl. As I did not add additional salt in the processing phase, I added finishing salt here.
Drizzle with 1-2 teaspoons of your best finishing olive oil. Sprinkle the remaining pepitas and parsley on top. A dash of cayenne pepper sprinkled on top for color also signals it as an ingredient to guests.
Serve with dipping agent of your choice.
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