Roasted cauliflower risotto with truffle oil

I have spent so much time cooking cauliflower over this past year. It seems that cauliflower’s moment in the spotlight has been extended and everyone is trying to find new ways to cook this wonderful vegetable. I think the whole “Low carb” movement definitely has something to do with it and though I don’t follow that way of eating, I do eat  a lot of cauliflower. It’s strange really as I hated it when I was younger. I couldn’t stand the smell of it cooking and would always turn my nose up at it. Not anymore though, I cook with it at least once a week and so to celebrate my love of cauliflower, I decided to make this week Cauliflower Week on Simply Delicious. A whole week dedicated to a single vegetable? You betcha! I wanted to show how incredibly versatile this cruciferous vegetable can be.

The first of 5 recipes that I created is this moreish risotto because guys, my risotto obsession has returned in full force. I haven’t cooked risotto in ages because as I’ve said before, my family came to the point where they begged me to stop. Apparently arborio rice cooked in stock until it turns into creamy, gooey goodness isn’t good enough for them… Crazy talk. But yet, I obliged and retired my risotto stirring spoon. However, when I decided to put all my focus on cauliflower, I knew I had to include a risotto and so the spoon was dug out of the drawers and a brand new bag of Arborio rice was bought. Risotto will one again reign supreme in the Ryder household. *cue dramatic victorious music*

I absolutely love the combination of roasted cauliflower with aromatic truffle oil, as can be seen in this cauliflower soup recipe. I decided to leave the cauliflower to roast until they were quite dark and almost charred because I really love how that intensifies the sweetness but if you’d prefer, simply roast them until done to your preference. I then made a puree with cream and stirred this into the risotto while it was cooking. The dish was finished off with a few charred florets, a drizzle of truffle oil and a generous grating of Parmesan cheese. Swoon.

Roasted cauliflower risotto with truffle oil

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Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour

Total Time: 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Course: Italian, Risotto, Vegetarian

Servings: 4 -6 as a main

Author: Alida Ryder

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Ingredients

• ▢ 1 head of cauliflower broken into florets
• ▢ olive oil
• ▢ salt & pepper
• ▢ 1/3 cup cream

for the risotto

• ▢ 1 onion finely chopped
• ▢ 1 garlic clove crushed
• ▢ 2- 2½ cups Arborio rice
• ▢ 1 cup white wine
• ▢ 4-6 cups vegetable/chicken stock
• ▢ 1-2 teaspoons truffle oil
• ▢ salt & pepper to taste
• ▢ grated Parmesan cheese for serving

Instructions

• Pre-heat the oven to 180°c.
• Place the cauliflower florets on a non-stick baking tray and drizzle with the olive oil. Season to taste then place in the oven.
• Allow to roast for 20-30 minutes until cooked through.
• Remove from the oven then allow to cool slightly before blending with the cream to make a puree. Set aside.
• To make the risotto, fry the onion in a large, non-stick pan. When the onion is translucent and fragrant, add the garlic and allow to fry for a few seconds.
• Add the rice then stir to mix with the onion and garlic.
• Add the wine and allow to reduce then start ladling in the stock, one ladle at a time whilst stirring regularly to allow the rice kernels to release their creamy starch.
• When the risotto is halfway cooked, stir in the cauliflower puree and continue with the stock until the rice is cooked to your preference.
• When the rice is cooked, stir in truffle oil to taste then season.
• Serve in bowls with a generous grating of Parmesan cheese.

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