Whole roasted cauliflower with red wine, shallots & wheatberries

For vegetarians, cauliflower is veg patch royalty. This dish captures all that is right about the marriage of grains and vegetables 

  • Prep:10 mins
    Cook:1 hrs 15 mins
  • Serves 4
  • Easy

Nutrition per serving

  • kcal 603
  • fat 18g
  • saturates 4g
  • carbs 74g
  • sugars 9g
  • fibre 9g
  • protein 25g
  • salt 1g

Ingredients

  • 1 large head of cauliflower, outer leaves removed
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 3 large banana shallots, quartered
  • 4 Portobello mushrooms, sliced
  • 2 tsp thyme leaves
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • 150ml red wine
  • 100g young leaf spinach
  • 350g wheatberries
  • 1l hot vegetable stock
  • 50g hazelnuts (skin on), roughly chopped
  • ½ tsp crushed pink peppercorns
  • 50g vegetarian Parmesan, finely grated

Method

  1. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Sit the cauliflower head upside down on a chopping board and cut the tough stem away. Leave some of the base so that the cauliflower remains intact.

  2. Heat the oil in a large flameproof casserole dish on a low-medium heat. Add the mustard seeds and, once they begin to ‘pop’, add the shallots. Fry gently for 4-5 mins until starting to caramelise, then add the mushrooms, thyme and garlic, and cook for a further 4-5 mins, stirring every so often. Pour in the wine and reduce by half. Stir in the spinach and allow the leaves to wilt.

  3. Next, add the wheatberries, season well and combine. Make a well in the centre and put the cauliflower in the middle. Pour the stock around – not over – the caulifower, then season.

  4. Cover and transfer to the oven. Cook for 50 mins-1 hr until the cauliflower and wheatberries are tender. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the hazelnuts, peppercorns and Parmesan over the cauliflower. Return to the oven for a further 5 mins, then serve.

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