Serves 6

This recipe was born out of going a bit cauliflower-crazy in the supermarket at university one time. What transpired was a pretty delicious meal and is the perfect thing to batch cook, freeze and use up spare vegetables.

It’s been a while since I first improvised this recipe and have since added in some of my favourite spices and blends so it sure packs a flavourful punch. This is full of aromatic spices and as with any recipe, if you can’t get your hands on the spices mentioned then just improvise. The small amount of asafoetida is totally dependent on if you have it but if you can get your hands on it then do, it provides a great overall umami taste.

Ingredients

1 head of cauliflower
1 white onion
1 large potato
2 carrots
2 cloves of garlic
1 small piece of fresh ginger
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp ground coriander
½ tsp asafoetida
2 tbsp hot curry powder (I use 1 tbsp of this one and this one)
Vegetable stock cube
300ml boiling water
Olive oil
Lemon juice

1.    Preheat your oven to 200C and prepare a large baking tray for your cauliflower. I find it easiest to premix the cauliflower with the spices in a large mixing bowl but feel free to do it on the sheet too. Cut the cauliflower into florets but don’t spend too long on the sizes as it’ll all get blitzed up anyway.

2.    Coat the florets in olive oil, lemon juice and the curry powders then put it in the oven for around 15 minutes. Note: I use two different curry powders as the Hot Madras one gives a great chilli heat from the added ground mustard, whilst the Caribbean one is a lot more tangy and fruity from ginger.

3.    Meanwhile, sweat the onion, garlic and ginger in a large pot. Once the onion gets a little translucent, add in the cumin and ground coriander.

4.    Whilst the onion mix is cooking, peel and chop your potatoes and carrots. Add them to the pot and mix.

5.    Prepare your stock by mixing in the stock cube with water.

6.    Add half the stock to the pot and mix. Cover with lid and allow to cook for 10 minutes on a medium-high heat to allow the potatoes and carrots to soften.

7.    At this point, your cauliflower should be ready to be taken out. Add it into the pot along with the rest of the stock. Mix well and cover until all the vegetables are soft.

8.    Using a hand-blender is easiest for this as you can do it in the pot (with the heat turned off) but if you don’t have one then putting the mix in a standalone blender in batches will work too.

9.    Blend it up to your preferred consistency. Don’t be afraid to add in water to make it a little looser as it will continue to thicken when put back on the heat.

10.  Put back on a low heat and add the asafoetida and lemon juice, if using. Finish off with a generous crack of black pepper and salt.

11.  Serve with a dollop of crème fraiche (the Oatly one is a great alternative) and some a warm roll.