Today’s post marks the very first appearance of cauliflower on a farmgirl’s dabbles. Over the past year, I’ve fallen deeply in love with this veggie, and have been roasting and sautéeing it for my family, and receiving their overwhelming stamps of approval.
I grew up eating cauliflower in one of two ways. Either raw from a vegetable platter (with ranch dip, of course!) or boiled and dripping with cheese. And neither way thrilled me. I often skipped right over those offerings. And, sadly, I missed out on many, many years of enjoying cauliflower.
Thankfully, I ventured out of my cauliflower lull and roasted up a pan of Sylvie’s gorgeous cauliflower with olives and herbs about a year ago. Ohhhhhh, man…it was some kind of revelation. And now my family can pretty much take care of two whole heads of that cauliflower recipe in one sitting!
While Sylvie’s recipe is savory and salty, this Roasted Cauliflower with Golden Raisins, Pine Nuts, and Orange leans on some sweetness. This dreary January weather has had me adding oranges to lots of dishes lately, and it gives such a juicy bright effect. (Try these fabulous Orange and Dark Chocolate Scones with Orange Glaze!) So far, I haven’t made a cauliflower dish over the past year that my family hasn’t been crazy about. There’s just something about roasting or sautéeing it. Try it. You’ll see exactly what I mean!
Roasted Cauliflower with Golden Raisins, Pine Nuts & Orange
Ingredients
- 1 medium sized head cauliflower
- 3 T. olive oil divided
- ½ tsp. kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- ½ T. rough chopped fresh rosemary
- 2 T. freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1 tsp. orange zest
- ¼ c. pine nuts toasted
- ¼ c. golden raisins
- flaky sea salt to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° F.
- Cut cauliflower into florets, then cut florets in half or quarters, depending on size. It’s good to have lots of cut surfaces on the cauliflower, for better browning. On a large baking pan with sides, drizzle 2 tablespoons olive oil over the cauliflower. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and stir to coat evenly.
- Roast in oven for 10 minutes. Combine remaining tablespoon of olive oil with rosemary and garlic, and drizzle mixture over cauliflower. Stir to coat evenly. Roast for another 15 minutes, or until cauliflower is showing beautiful brown markings and is just tender (don’t let it roast too long, or it will get mushy).
- Remove from oven, sprinkle with fresh orange juice and zest, pine nuts, and golden raisins. Toss gently to combine. Sprinkle lightly with flaky sea salt and serve straight from the pan…or transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle with sea salt. Serve warm.
Notes
Nutrition Information:
All the beautiful recipes on your site and this is the first ever cauliflower one!? This seems like a fantastic recipe through which it made its debut. I absolutely love that hint of sweetness from raisins in savory dishes and the nice golden char on the cauliflower looks fantastic.
I know, right?! I’ve totally been missing out on cauliflower. But I’m making up for it pretty fast…there’ll be another cauliflower recipe up in a week or so. :) Thanks, Jess – great to hear from you again!
Gorgeous. I have a head of cauliflower waiting to be roasted here. I may just have to add a bit of orange.
I made a roasted cauliflower dish this week too. So much better roasted! I love your addition of the sweet with the raisins and the citrus too.
What a healthy and vibrant dish!
I really love roasting cauliflower–it brings out such a sweet, rich flavor. This pairing of raisins, pine nuts and orange sounds perfect.
Thanks, Julia!
I made this tonight for supper. I hate rosemary so I used some Mrs. Dash instead. It was so good. Husband said I could make it again tomorrow. Love the flavor from the orange. I will be making this again.
Wonderful!! I’m so glad you both liked it. Thanks bunches for coming back to let me know, Lorene.
Of the *tree* veggies as I call them, broccoli is my favourite but I do enjoy cauliflower too. This recipe sounds really good.
I love roasted veggies so much, but my picky family does not. I have to wait until I have some company coming over to try this Brenda. Looks great! But then everything you make looks good! :)
You should just roast up a pan for yourself, Donna. I do that with squash and beets for myself, since my family isn’t keen on them. I don’t want to miss out!! :)
Yes, your right! I should treat my self to roasted veggies as they are good for me and I am worth it! :-)
Exactly! (You just made me smile.)
LOVE roasted cauliflower! Lots of yummy flavors going on in this one.
I have to admit cauliflower is about my least favorite vegetable, but you are making it look really tempting! I need to try this.
Love all the flavors! Roasted cauliflower (or white trees as my kids calls them) is amazing.
B – you make me swoon. This looks incredible!! I need to make this pronto.
I love cauliflower, but don’t buy it nearly enough because my family doesn’t love it as much as I do. WIll have to try your recipe soon!
Looks so good, Brenda! I love cauliflower too, we love love having it in stir fry!
Now that will be my next cauliflower episode. Stir fry. YUM!
Oh I love this variation on roasted cauliflower, I have to try it!
Thanks, Sylvie. I’m just so glad I took a second chance on cauliflower with your beautiful recipe. My cauliflower world has been opened up wide. :)
What a great flavor combination, Brenda. This is amazing. We love golden raisins!
I think I’d really enjoy this flavor, Brenda. WOW! Just pinned, too. :)
I love roasted cauliflower, great flavors!
We love roasted cauliflower, well any roasted veggie for that matter. I love, love, love the addition of orange and rosemary too!