Whole roasted cauliflower in an ancho-chile adobo sauce

The ancho-chiles in this adobo sauce give a deliciously rich and smokey flavour to the cauliflower, which is well balanced with the freshness of the tangy tomatillo salsa and sharp pink pickled onions. The recipe makes more adobo sauce than you need for the one cauliflower, but it can be kept in the fridge for two weeks or in the freezer for 3 months, so you can use it for marinating other ingredients too. 

(Serves 4)

Ingredients

• 1 whole cauliflower 

• 2 tbsp olive oil 

• 1 pinch of sea salt

Makes 250g ancho-chile adobo sauce:

• 70g ancho chiles 

• 5 cloves garlic (peeled)

• 75ml white wine vinegar

• 2 tsp cumin

• 1 tsp oregano 

• 2 tsp salt 

• 1 tsp sugar 

• 50ml water from soaked chillies

Makes 500g tomatillo salsa:

• 400g tin of tomatillos 

• 1 small garlic clove (peeled)

• 1 small white onion (peeled)

• 50g coriander (stalks and all)

• 2 tsp salt 

• juice of 1 lime

• 1 medium-sized yellow or green chilli 

Pink pickled onions:

• 1 red onion

• juice of 2 lemons 

• 1 tbsp sea salt 

Other serving suggestions:

• 1 handful of toasted cumin seeds

• 5 tbsp Greek yoghurt 

• 8 corn tortillas 

• 1 handful of fresh coriander leaves 

Equipment

• food processor 

• baking tray with sides

• sharp knife 

• chopping board 

• measuring jug

• teaspoon

• kettle 

• aluminium foil (or lid for baking tray) 

• tablespoon

• mandolin (optional) 

Method

For the adobo sauce: 

1. Preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius (200 degrees Celsius fan, 425 degrees Fahrenheit, Gas mark 7) 

2. Boil 1 litre of water in the kettle 

3. Wipe the dry chiles down with a damp cloth to remove any dust

4. Cut open the chiles and remove the head and the seeds

5. Place the chiles on a baking tray and toast in the oven for 2 minutes

6. After the 2 minutes, take the chiles out of the oven, place in a bowl and cover with the pre-boiled water - make sure they are submerged and leave for 30 minutes

7. Add the garlic, white wine vinegar, cumin, oregano, salt and sugar to the food processor but don’t blitz yet 

8. After 30 minutes, take the chiles out (don’t throw away the water!) and add them to the food processor along with 50ml of the soaking water

9. Blitz everything until it forms a smooth paste

For the cauliflower: 

1. Turn the oven down to 200 degrees Celsius (180 degrees Celsius fan, 400 degrees Fahrenheit, Gas mark 6)

2. Remove the outer leaves and wash and dry the cauliflower thoroughly 

3. Put the cauliflower into the baking tray and rub 100g of the adobo sauce into the cauliflower, making sure to cover it completely

4. Drizzle the cauliflower with 2 tbsp of olive oil and a pinch of sea salt

5. Cover the cauliflower with aluminium foil and roast in the oven for 1 hour and 20 minutes*

6. Remove the aluminium foil and roast for another 20 minutes*

*The cooking time will depend on the size of your cauliflower, but you should cook it until tender but still with bite in the middle. 

For the tomatillo salsa: 

1. Add all of the ingredients (tomatillos, garlic, onion, coriander, salt, lime juice and chilli) to the food processor 

2. Pulse blitz the ingredients until they are combined to a texture of your taste - I prefer when it is still a bit chunky

For the pink pickled onions: 

1. Finely slice the red onion into rounds using a mandolin or sharp knife 

2. Put the onions into a bowl and add the lemon juice and salt 

3. Use your hands to scrunch the onions together so that they are combined with the lemon juice and salt

4. Leave for a minimum of 30 minutes before eating (they are best left overnight - you can make a larger quantity in advance and use as a topping for other dishes too)

Nourished Communities and Plate Talks will be collaborating on a monthly series of recipes to celebrate delicious produce, home cookery, and local conversations. This is the first in the series.

“Nourished Communities is an online farmers market set up to help farmers and local producers during COVID-19. With the closure of Farmers’ Markets, Rollo Millership, who has worked on fruit and vegetable stalls since a teenager, started Nourished Communities at the onset of the coronavirus crisis (March 2020) to support local businesses, producers and farmers whose livelihoods have been affected by the lockdown and also those who didn’t want to miss out on fresh, seasonal produce from farmers’ markets. Nourished Communities brings the finest quality seasonal home-grown produce & products from the English countryside and beyond straight to your door. They began by running out of a pub in Clerkenwell and now thanks to the community spirit and generosity of Coexistence have been able to open a shop in Islington. Just as they were started through giving, Nourished Communities want to give back as much as possible to the community they are part of. They aim to make “ripples and waves” within their community, and to champion and actively do business with people who have a positive impact on the community. Most recently, Rollo and the team have been supporting the @curryclub which sees London chefs (including Meera Sodha, Anna Jones and more) joining forces to cook meals for London's vulnerable, sourcing produce from farms close to London who have been hit by the pandemic. Whilst the Big Issue stopped printing because of Covid they hired, Will, the big issue man from Upper Street to flyer for them. They are involved with numerous food banks across North and East London. and always open to new and creative ideas. If you have any don't hesitate to get in touch with them to make some ripples in our community! The next steps for them are to start a foundation taking children who have been excluded from schools to see the producers and farmers they work with!”