Nigella's Cauliflower And Cashew Nut Curry

I am on a Nigella roll at the moment (is that like a Spring Roll?) as you may have noticed while I go through her latest book.  This one is very different from her previous tomes.  She is clearly swimming in the zeitgeist pool here, using all the trendy stuff like chia seeds, extra virgin coconut oil, buckwheat flour, lots of veggies, chickpeas, heaps of lime and chilli and ginger - well, you get the picture.  Just as well I love all that stuff, well maybe not so much with the chia seeds and buckwheat flour.


Do I look odd to you, folks?  I think I must have been a strange kid. I always ate my vegetables, including cauliflower quite happily.  In fact it came as a surprise to me later in life to hear people talking about how hard it is to get kids to eat their veggies.  They were never an optional extra back in my childhood days.  You sat at the dining table till everything was eaten, even if you sat there till bedtime.  And then you might get it for breakfast in the morning. Nothing like cold spaghetti with a bit of milk and sugar to get you through a day at school.

delish cauli curry

Here we have a cauliflower recipe, loaded with Miss N.'s flavours du jour - lime, chilli and ginger.  Oh, except I forgot to buy a lime so had to make do with a lemon.  I don't think she would object as she has always been a fan of thrift and common sense.  

I think she has gone slightly mad in the pages of this book though. She uses items like raw liquorice powder without telling you how you can find it.  She has coconut butter in one recipe; no mention of what, where, how to find this.  For this curry recipe, she says to use coconut oil without giving any alternative.  Now I find coconut oil the devil's work, and refuse to have it in my pantry so have used olive oil as I do for everything.  It worked out fine!


Serves 2:


ingredients:


1 medium size cauliflower (about 600g. before cleaning)

2-3 teaspoons sea salt flakes

2-3 bay leaves

75g. cashew nuts

1 tbs olive oil or oil of your choice (she uses 15ml spoons)

2 spring onions, finely sliced

2 tsp ginger, finely chopped or grated

3 cardamom pods

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tbs coriander stalks, finely chopped

1/4 cup (60 mls) Thai red curry paste

1 x 400 mls can of coconut milk

1 lime, juiced

coriander leaves to serve

naan bread to serve (optional)


Method:


Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil

Chop the cauli into large bite-sized pieces

Throw 2 tsp of the salt, and the bay leaves into the boiling water

Tip in the cauli and boil for 4-5 minutes till just tender, then drain

Place the cashews in a small pan without oil and toss for a few minutes till lightly roasted

Heat the oil in a wok or pan 

In go the spring onions, ginger, cardamom (lightly bashed first to release the seeds) and cumin seeds - give it a stir

Next you add the coriander stalks and stir it for a minute

Stir in the curry paste and let it cook down for a couple of minutes

Pour in the coconut milk, stir and bring to a bubble

Now add the cauli pieces and the extra salt if you wish - I ended up putting an extra half a teaspoon of salt at this point so 2.5 spoons all up

Cover with a lid and let it simmer for 5-10 minutes

Now stir in half the cashews, and the lime juice

Check for seasoning; top with coriander leaves and the rest of the cashews

Serve with heated naan bread

ingredients gathered  

chuck the cauli into the boiling water 

toss the nuts in the pan till golden   

stir the aromates in the hot oil    

stir in the coconut milk 

cauli goes in next   

squeeze in the lime juice and throw on the nuts after simmering for a few minutes  

garnish with coriander leaves  

I served this with the warmed naan bread, and I threw some roast chicken breast into the curry too.  It is a very tasty dish, and Mr P. thoroughly approved.  I think if I keep on with the recipes from this book, I will end up feeling very virtuous indeed.

my whacko, hybrid cauli doodle