Sunday, June 1, 2008

Roasted Cauliflower and Homemade Ketchup

Cauliflower is not the typical side dish we have with burgers, but I had a freakishly large head of it in the fridge that needed to be cooked up. Emeril's recipe is a nice alternative to steaming.
For the burgers I made my own ketchup too! It was surprisingly good. In fact, I won't be buying any more store bought. It probably cost less than 50 cents to make and I was able to use agave nectar in place of sugar (or in Heinz' version, high fructose corn syrup!). The really small bottle of agave sweetened ketchup that Central Market carries cost almost 8 bucks! Try whipping up your own batch sometime...it does't make too much, but I'm not sure how long it'll keep, so that's probably a good thing.

Oven-Roasted Cauliflower with Garlic, Olive Oil and Lemon Juice:
(Emeril Lagasse)

5 to 6 cups cauliflower florets, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter (from 1 medium cauliflower)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil (I probably used less)
1 tablespoon sliced garlic
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
Chopped chives, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.

Place the cauliflower florets in a large saute pan or a roasting pan. Drizzle the olive oil over the cauliflower, and season with the garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Place the saute/roasting pan in the oven and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure even roasting. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the Parmesan. Serve immediately while still warm.


Homemade Ketchup:
(If there's a "+" next to the amount, I used a little more of those. If there's a "-" I used less.)

1 small can of tomato paste
1/4+ cup water
-1/8 cup agave nectar
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4+ teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon cloves
1/4 tsp onion powder
2+ tablespoons cider vinegar

Whisk all ingredients together and put in the fridge until ready to use. How it could it be any easier than that?

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