new year in the new place
Recipe: miso-roasted cauliflower
Winter storms are marching across (or around) Colorado this week. We had a short 1-day window between storms to zip over to Crested Butte. There’s so much powder being dumped that it’s enough to make a girl’s head spin. So she might be forgiven for suggesting getting a handful of first tracks in the morning before packing everything up to drive 5+ hours. And now we’re about to celebrate our first Chinese New Year in the new place! I guess it isn’t so new anymore, but it still feels new. The important thing is that we all love it here, including Kaweah. Of course, she sleeps most of the time and it tugs at my heart that she can’t enjoy the high country, trails, town, or even the neighborhood with us the way she could just a few years ago.
old pups need lots of naps
i brought “fu” (luck) to hang upside down on our front door
Chinese New Year will be just a tad simpler in Crested Butte than normal, because the kitchen is smaller and the groceries around here aren’t so great for traditional Chinese cooking. I prepped several dishes in Nederland and will make the rest here on Thursday (Chinese New Year’s Eve) after we ski the powder. Yes, there is powder and a lot of it in the forecast for CB! We took a break from work on Wednesday afternoon to squeeze in a nordic ski and the snow was already falling. Getting outside is the very best medicine for me.
me, my sweetie, and large fluffy flakes!
along the slate river
I can tell that the Crested Butte kitchen is slowly coming up to snuff because the types of meals I prepare here are converging with the types of meals I prepare at home. We ate a lot of simple dishes when we first moved in – boiled things, grilled things, roasted things. We still do a lot of roasted vegetables because it’s a lovely way to enjoy Brussels sprouts, broccoli, butternut squash, asparagus, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, and cauliflower. I have always loved cauliflower and all vegetables thanks in no small part to my mom’s great cooking. Most of the time she would stir-fry or braise the vegetables, but now I’ve added roasting to that list of favorite techniques. It concentrates the sweetness and flavor so nicely, and it’s pretty easy to do. Roasted cauliflower is a real winner of a dish, but the other day I thought to add miso to the mix… because how could it be bad?!
pretty purple and orange cauliflowers
so pretty
There was a debate in my head between a modified miso glaze that I use to marinate miso black cod and Kathya’s addictive miso butter from her miso butter roast chicken. I opted for the miso glaze this time, but the miso butter is certainly on my recipe list for the future.
cut the cauliflower into florets
drizzle with olive oil, toss, and roast
The first step is to roast the cauliflower florets. Even though the miso gets roasted on later, cauliflower takes some time to cook through and we don’t want to burn the miso in the process. So roast the cauliflower in a little olive oil first. While that’s happening in the oven, mix up the miso glaze.
glaze: white miso, sugar, mirin, sake, sesame oil
whisk the miso into the sake and mirin
add sugar
stir in the sesame oil
I’m a little on the fence about the sesame oil. I think if you like sesame oil, then go for it. If you’re neither here nor there on sesame oil, then you might want to omit it. Totally up to you, but I found the sesame oil to be a bit of an attention whore compared to the subtle nutty and earthy undertones of the miso. Once the cauliflower has roasted for 30 minutes, remove it from the oven and toss the florets with the miso glaze. Then pop it back in the oven for 20 minutes.
pour the glaze over the florets
toss to coat
roasted
We love our roasted vegetables, but sometimes you want to change things up and add a little kick. This miso glaze adds a nice dimension to the roasted cauliflower – sweet, umami, nutty. And it’s not that much more involved than straight roasting, so this will not suck up countless hours of your time. It’s fast, easy, and good for you! Pretty colors are purely optional – it’s fantastic with regular white cauliflower too.
serve hot
a colorful addition to any plate
Miso Roasted Cauliflower
[print recipe]
1 head of cauliflower, trimmed and cut into florets
2-3 tbsps olive oil
2 tbsps sake
2 tbsps mirin
1/4 cup miso paste (I used white miso)
2 tbsps sugar
2 tsps sesame oil (optional)
Preheat oven to 425°F. Toss the cauliflower florets with olive oil and spread in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet or in a baking dish. Roast for 30 minutes. While the cauliflower roasts, combine the sake and mirin in a small saucepan. Set the pan over medium heat. Whisk in the miso paste (be patient, it will eventually blend) and then stir in the sugar until dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in sesame oil if using. When the cauliflower has roasted for 30 minutes, remove it from the oven. Pour the miso glaze over the cauliflower and toss to coat each floret as completely as you can. Return the cauliflower to the oven in the same baking sheet or baking dish and roast for another 20 minutes. Serve hot. Serves 2-4 people.
more goodness from the use real butter archives
|
black cod with miso |
|
miso pork belly stack |
|
miso butter roast chicken |
|
roasted cauliflower salad |
January 30th, 2014 at 6:04 am
I could get down with this. I love sesame oil. I wonder how avocado oil would be?
January 30th, 2014 at 8:17 am
I’m always looking for new veggie dishes and will happily put miso on just about anything, so I will be trying this one asap. Thank you!
January 30th, 2014 at 12:22 pm
Happy Lunar New Year!
Thank you for your blog. Really enjoy and appreciate it.
January 30th, 2014 at 8:39 pm
Yum City! This sounds amazing.
(I couldn’t help but be reminded of Mardi Gras…the colors, girl, the colors!). ;)
Kisses to the pup. Love you, Miss K…
January 30th, 2014 at 10:35 pm
Wow, I’ve never seen purple cauliflower. It’s pretty. They way you plated the cauliflower, it looks like the the purple is giving a hug to the yellow. :) It’s so heartwarming to see how much you treasure your dog. Blessings to you in this new year.
January 30th, 2014 at 11:27 pm
What gorgeous colours! And I’m a miso fanatic ;-) Lovely pic of your beloved puppy and also of you and Jeremy. Happy Lunar New Year!
January 30th, 2014 at 11:35 pm
Oh, my! I love cauliflower and haven’t cooked or even eaten it in a long time. My mom cooked it a lot, but only boiled, and with cheese sauce (not to say that’s bad…lol). I think I have to try this. I’ve never cooked with miso, but it looks so easy. I’m another sesame oil lover.
Thanks, Jen. Kisses and sweet hugs for Kaweah. Every time your post pops up in my email, I take a breath hoping it’s another recipe and pic or two of her. I feel like she’s my grandpuppy, too.
xo Linda
January 31st, 2014 at 7:58 am
Happy New Year and Gong Xi Fa Zai to you. Many of my classmates turn 72 this year, some of them have been friends for over 60 years. Next “year of the horse” will be 2026 and hope all of them make to 2026.
January 31st, 2014 at 10:34 am
This is so my jam! Roasted cauliflower and miso? I will probably eat this every day for the next week. Thanks for that sweet picture of your pup. Happy Lunar New Year!
February 1st, 2014 at 4:47 pm
Ooh. I love roasted cauliflower, and I can’t wait to try this. Have a great New Year!
February 4th, 2014 at 7:55 am
Kaweah looks so beautiful surrounded by so much color in the “rag” quilt you made. It’s that black fur!!!!
And I’m please to see that purple cauliflower doesn’t bleed when roasted. Looks scrumptious.
xo, j
February 4th, 2014 at 12:01 pm
Stephen – I’ve never cooked with avocado oil before. Let me know if you try it!
Kristin – :)
ska – thank you!
CoffeeGrounded – yeah, I love those colors too! I should have bought a green one, but that was just too much cauliflower ;)
Becky – ha ha ha! That’s cute. I’ve been eying purple cauliflower for a few years now and finally bought some. It’s prettiest raw, but it’s delicious nonetheless!
Louise – thank you :)
Linda – awww, thanks. And I hope you like the cauliflower!
Lisa – yes, I hope you ALL make it to 2026, Mom. Love you :)
Sophie – happy new year!
Dorothy – gong xi gong xi!
jill – :) xo
February 6th, 2014 at 2:35 am
I love to roast vegetables! And roasted cauliflower has a nutty note to it. Can’t enough of that!
And those beauties are such eye candies for foodies!!
February 10th, 2014 at 6:52 pm
We enjoyed this for dinner tonight. Miso is a new ingredient for us and I just happened to have some in the frig waiting for the perfect recipe. Thanks for sharing and making it easy to try new things.