Roasted Cauliflower with Golden Raisins, Breadcrumbs, and Feta
O, this is crunchy, too. [Photo Credit: Alex Paternostro]
by Seth Paternostro
November 28, 2021
The theme of the party was Animal Manor, and the servants wore their costumes well. This greatly pleased their Lord, who had gone out of his usual way to acquire them. The servants, that is. His favorite was dressed as a lioness, fitted with sharpened dentures to intimidate the guests. The effort, however, was unsuccessful, for most of the maiden’s other features were still on full display. Another sauntered about as an elephant with his short and stubby trunk hanging free, at the request of the Lord’s wife. The Lord enjoyed seeing her so happy. A third servant, whom neither the Lord nor his Lady much preferred, appeared as an old greyhound, taillights included. He had picked his own costume, but the Lord admitted that it suited him. The greyhound carried tray after tray of delicacies too small to describe, shuttling back and forth from the kitchen. Vroom, vroom. The guests, in their attempts to pass the time, asked the other servants to pour more wine, share any salacious gossip they knew of the Lord, and pick up the spare bills that kept falling to the ground.
Eventually, cocktail hour was over, and each guest, too fat to stand much longer, gratefully took a seat or two at the long wooden table. They oohed and ahhed as a golden plate, their gift for the Lord, was placed before him. Atop the precious paten was piled a generous mound of cauliflower. The Lord took a bite.
“I like that it’s crunchy,” he said in his nasally tones, chewing the edges of the plate.
The guests issued a sigh of relief and slumped into their chairs, ruffling their suits. Each had privately fretted on the helicopter ride out of Manhattan about the Lord’s response.
“I think I’ll have it with ketchup,” the Lord proclaimed.
The red-faced guests turned to their Lord, the Chairman of the Board, and agreed in unison that he should indeed have ketchup with his new plate. They then asked if he desired to eat the cauliflower, the object of their meeting, too.
“Sure,” he said and nibbled a floret. He found it good enough for “people” and snapped at the lioness to add an agribusiness ETF to his private portfolio. Futures contracts on cauliflower seed then rose 14 cents.
Serves 4
Total time
30 minutes
Equipment:
cutting board, chef’s knife or cleaver, large mixing bowl, measuring cups and spoons, metal spatula, tasting fork, heavy baking sheet
Tableware:
serving plates and utensils
Ingredients
1 large head cauliflower
3 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp red wine vinegar
½ cup golden raisins
4 oz feta cheese
6 tbsps Toasted Panko Breadcrumbs
2 sprigs parsley
Black pepper, as needed
Kosher salt, as needed
Instructions
Set out all equipment, tableware, and ingredients. Preheat the oven to 425°F with a baking sheet on the middle rack.
Rinse the cauliflower, then cut it into bite-size florets.
In a large mixing bowl, toss the cauliflower pieces with the extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, a small pinch of black pepper, and a very generous pinch of salt.
Spread the cauliflower out on the preheated baking sheet in a single layer.
Roast for 15 minutes, flip the pieces over with a spatula, then return to the oven for another 5 to 10 minutes, or until the florets are nicely golden brown but retain a slight crunch. Taste to check.
Roughly chop the parsley leaves. Crumble the feta cheese.
Divide the cauliflower among serving plates, then garnish evenly with the raisins, feta cheese, Toasted Panko Breadcrumbs, and parsley.
NUTRITION FACTS:
Calories 315 Total Fat 17.4g (22%) Saturated Fat 5.9g (30%) Cholesterol 25mg (8%) Sodium 461mg (20%) Total Carbohydrate 34.5g (13%) Dietary Fiber 6.4g (23%) Total Sugars 17.6g Protein 10.2g Vitamin D 0mcg (0%) Calcium 216mg (17%) Iron 2mg (11%) Potassium 815mg (17%) - Note: Please read our Nutrition Disclaimer.
Seth Paternostro is a writer and recipe developer based in Chicago. He is a co-founder of Our American Cuisine and graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University with an A.B. in East Asian Studies. You can learn more about him here.
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