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Cauliflower Cake

This iconic savoury 'cake' is a vegetarian winner of a meal.  Cauliflower, onions, cheese and herbs all come together in a dense, high almost frittata like cake.  Perfect for brunch or dinner!

Course Main Course
Servings 8

Ingredients

  • 1 small cauliflower , outer leaves removed, broken into 1 1/4-inch/3-cm florets (1 lb/450 g)
  • 1 medium red onion , peeled
  • 5 tbsp (75 ml) olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp finely chopped rosemary
  • 1/2-1 tsp hot chilli flakes optional
  • 7 eggs
  • ½ cup (15 g) basil leaves, chopped
  • 1 cup (120 g) all-purpose flour, sifted
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/3 tsp ground turmeric
  • 5 oz (150 g) coarsely grated Parmesan or another mature cheese
  • 1/2 cup sea asparagus , rinsed and roughly chopped (optional)
  • Melted unsalted butter , for brushing (can also use olive oil spray)
  • 1 tbsp white sesame seeds
  • 1 tsp nigella seeds
  • Salt and black pepper

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF/200ºC.
  2. Place the cauliflower florets in a saucepan and add 1 teaspoon salt. Cover with water and simmer for 15 minutes, until the florets are soft. They should be easily pierced. Drain and set aside in a colander to dry.
  3. Cut several round slices, each 1/4 inch (5 mm) thick, off one end of the onion and set aside.
  4. Coarsely chop the rest of the onion and place in a small pan with the oil and rosemary and chilli flakes (if using). Cook for 10 minutes over medium heat, stirring from time to time, until soft. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

  5. Transfer the onion to a large bowl, add the eggs and basil, whisk well, and then add the flour, baking powder, turmeric, Parmesan, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and plenty of pepper.
  6. Whisk until smooth before adding the cauliflower and stirring gently, trying not to break up the florets.  If you are including sea asparagus, add it now as well.

  7. Line the base of a 9 1/2-inch/24-cm springform cake pan with parchment paper.
  8. Brush the sides with melted butter or veggie spray, then mix together the sesame and nigella seeds and toss them around the inside of the pan so that they stick to the sides.
  9. Pour the cauliflower mixture into the pan, spreading it evenly, and arrange the reserved onion rings on top.
  10. Place in the center of the oven and bake for 45 minutes, until golden brown and set; a knife inserted into the center of the cake should come out clean.
  11. Remove from the oven and leave for at least 20 minutes before serving. It needs to be served just warm, rather than hot, or at room temperature.

Recipe Notes

I often add 1/2 cup of sea asparagus to the 'batter' with the cauliflower. If you want to also add the sea asparagus (I urge you to find and use it- it's SOOOO good for you), first set it in a bowl of water to rinse off any strong briny-ness. On the other hand, if you don't mind that 'sea' flavour, like I do, then just give them a quick rinse under cold water in a colander. Then chop roughly and add to the batter. If you are using the sea asparagus, you can hold back on the salt, since it adds it's own natural saltiness to the dish.

As an alternative to sea asparagus, try adding 1/2 cup of quickly sautéed kale.

This recipe feeds 8 easily.  If I know it is only Jim and I eating this, I will use an 8 inch springform pan, and roughly guess at using 3/4 of all the ingredients.  It's a pretty forgiving recipe, so don't try to be exact in reducing the recipe.

Recipe from Plenty More by Yotam Ottolenghi