After the craziness of Halloween, all the attention is now focused on preparing a Thanksgiving like no other. There are thousands of recipes trying to inspire you to create something special, so I don’t know how much you would appreciate another idea for your festive dinner. We don’t have any celebration like Thanksgiving over here, and the end of November is right in the middle of the fasting period before Christmas. This recipe is a vegan idea for those of you fasting, but maybe you could consider it as a healthy side dish for the Thanksgiving dinner.
I was never interested in fasting, maybe because I was already a vegetarian and was afraid that giving up dairy for a pretty long period would create an imbalance in my diet. Things are quite different nowadays, as I reduced dairy to a minimal amount consumed in my diet (the milk in my coffee and occasionally some mozzarella on pizza), so I think it’s about time to consider fasting, and hopefully, I’ll become a true vegan after that. I’ve even considered one or two days of absolute fasting, to give my body a pause from digestion, but I think this would be really difficult (maybe including fresh juices would make it easier to stand).
I have actually noticed that I prepare mostly vegan dishes. Today, I made roasted cauliflower and it was love at first sight. It’s incredible how much roasting changes the cabbage-like taste in something that delicious, and how versatile it is when it comes to seasonings. I used cumin and black pepper and it turned out perfectly – I will definitely try more spices in the future, like paprika, turmeric, or sumac.
Cauliflower is a vegetable to eat on regular basis when in season (just like all the other cruciferous veggies – cabbage, kale, brussels sprouts, broccoli, and other green leaf vegetables). For getting the maximum benefit from its nutrients, it’s best to consume it raw or slightly cooked. Even when roasting, try not to overcook it (just to get it softer, but still crunchy texture). Cauliflower provides nutrient support for all of the three systems connected with chronic diseases when in imbalance: detox, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory. The main cauliflower nutrients related with these systems are: sulfur-containing nutrients (detox), vitamin C, manganese, and beta-carotene (antioxidant), and vitamin K (anti-inflammatory). Moreover, the high content of fibers in cauliflower maintain a healthy digestive system, along with its sulfur-containing nutrients that prevent the overgrowth of Helicobacter Pylori in your stomach.
In this recipe, I paired roasted cauliflower with black lentils (I already told you about their fabulous health benefits over here), parsley, and lemon for a fresh touch, and it turned out just perfect! Kept me full for the whole evening and tasted delicious!
Cumin Roasted Cauliflower with Black Lentils
Ingredients
- 1 medium cauliflower head
- 1 tsp coconut oil
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup black lentils cooked or canned
- 3 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- A pinch of pink Himalayan salt
- 1 bunch fresh parsley
Instructions
- Heat the oven at 165 °C/329 °F.
- Cut the cauliflower in small florets and place in a bowl with salted water. Let soak for five minutes. Drain well.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Transfer the cauliflower florets on the baking sheet.
- Add the coconut oil, cumin powder and black pepper and toss to combine.
- Bake for 20 minutes, tossing once or twice for uniformly cooking, until golden and tender.
- Remove the cauliflower from the oven and transfer into a large bowl.
- Add the lentils, olive oil and lime juice and mix to combine.
- Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and top with roughly chopped parsley.
- Serve warm.
Notes
i love how simple this bowl is and i love the pairing of the white toasty cauliflower with black lentils. beautiful!
Hey, beautiful mermaid, thanks for your visit and feedback! XO
This salad would make a great meal on it’s own, as well as great side! Love it!
It’s a versatile dish and you can substitute lentils with quinoa or chickpeas, it will pair deliciously. Thanks for your visit!
I’m just discovering your blog and it is absolutely beautiful! I’ve been a vegetarian for ten years so I can relate with the desire to become vegan. I’m not quite there yet but recipes like this make it seems so easy! And the nutritional stats are pretty darn impressive too.
Thanks Sarah, I’m trying to offer as much information as possible for convincing as many people as possible to consider the vegetarian diet. By the way, your recipes are very inspiring!
Oh, how tasty, simple & healthy it looks! Now i m feeling very bad after just eating some prepacked moeuleux au chocolat 🙂 But thats maybe a good thing: tomorrow I go for healthy & homemade (its weekend!)! It looks like you attract a lot of soulmates as I visit the blogs of the people who wrote their comments here. Good job! Greetings from Ghent (the city where thursday-veggieday was invented – a huge success in Belgium!)
Well, now guess who’s dreaming of moeuleux au chocolat! 🙂
this meal looks so sophisticated and gourmet 🙂
Thanks Caralyn, it’s actually one of the simplest dishes ever!
I just love roasted cauliflower, it’s amazing how different it tastes to when it’s raw or steamed – yet all equally delicious. I like to slice the whole cauliflower into 1″ thick slices and roast them until they melt in the mouth, but that’s my taste:) Earthy lentils are a great flavour combination, and black and white never goes out of fashion, does it? 🙂
What a good idea, I’ll slice them like this next time, I’m sure they’ll be great! Black and white, with a dash of awesome green, definitely my kinda 😉
This is on my Thanksgiving 2019 menu! I’ve never made it, but it looks delicious!
Sorry, this was a terrible recipe! First of all, whose oven has a 329 setting? Second of all, coconut oil usually comes in a jar and is semi-solid. One tsp of semi-solid coconut oil doesn’t come near to being enough to coat an entire cauliflower, even a smallish one. Third of all, it’s virtually impossible to “toss” that 1 tsp of coconut oil and spices once the florets are already on the backing sheet. Why not put them in a bowl to toss, and then lay out on baking sheet? Since I had no 329 setting on my oven, I roasted on 350. After 20 minutes, still pale and underdone (and yes, I did cut them into small florets!) . Turned the heat up to 400 and another 20 minutes later they were fork-done, but still pale. So while I appreciate the combination, next time I’ll use a tablespoon or more of olive oil, a big bowl and a higher roasting temp. But thanks for the idea anyway!
329 degrees F. is just the equivalent to 165 degrees C. Most modern ovens, today, increase by 5 degree increments, so you can easily cook at 330 degrees F. without a problem. The amount of fat you use when roasting vegetables always varies with the size of the head of broccoli, cabbage or cauliflower. If you think you need more, add more. The same as you would with salt or pepper. The tenderness of the cauliflower is determined by the size of your pieces and freshness. If it is too tough, just pop it into a microwaveable bowl and cook it on HIGH with a cover on for a couple of mins, and let it steam for a min. or 2 or until your desired degree of tenderness.
This looks delish and I want to try it because I have some black lentils I am looking for ways to use. But my husband hates cumin. Is there something else you can recommend that would work well as a substitute? Thanks!
You can try using ground caraway or a curry blend.