His creativity with vegetables never ceases to amaze me! Yotam Ottolenghi has a way of coming up with unusual combinations to create fascinating recipes. They taste as wonderful as they look and always have a different twist to make them distinctive. This one is no exception.
One of the unusual parts of this recipe is the seed mixture adhered to the side of the cake. Although he calls it a cake, it is more like cross between a crustless quiche and a savory cake. I did not have the nigella seeds that he uses on hand, so I used a mixture of white and black sesame seeds. They worked perfectly.
When cooking the onions and rosemary be sure to keep the heat low enough so that you can cook them until nicely tender but not brown.
Then you mix in all of the ingredients except the cauliflower, adding it at the end and stirring carefully so you don’t break up the florets. This is easily done with a rubber spatula.
When nicely blended together, you pour the mixture into your prepared springform cake pan and top with the red onion rings. They will bake into the cake, resulting in a very appealing presentation.
This is a great dish to serve for brunch and makes a great side dish. It is a terrific company recipe as it can be made slightly ahead of time to serve warm. It does not need to be served straight from the oven as it is best served warm (not hot or room temperature)
YOTAM OTTOLENGHI’S CAULIFLOWER CAKE
Serves 6-8 (he says 4-6 but it served more)
Ingredients
- 1 small cauliflower, outer leaves removed, broken into 1 1/4-inch florets (about 4 cups)
- 1 medium red onion, peeled (6 ounces)
- 5 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary
- 7 large eggs
- 1/2 cup basil leaves, chopped
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/3 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 1/2 cups coarsely grated Parmesan or another aged cheese
- Melted unsalted butter, for brushing
- 1 tablespoon white sesame seeds
- 1 teaspoon nigella seeds (also known as black caraway)
- Salt and black pepper
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Place the cauliflower florets in a saucepan and add 1 teaspoon salt. Cover with water and simmer for 15 minutes, until the florets are quite soft. They should break when pressed with a spoon. Drain and set aside in a colander to dry.
- Cut 4 round slices, each 1/4-inch/5-mm thick, off one end of the onion and set aside. Coarsely chop the rest of the onion and place in a small pan with the oil and rosemary. Cook for 10 minutes over medium heat, stirring from time to time, until soft. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. Transfer the onion to a large bowl, add the eggs and basil, whisk well, and then add the flour, baking powder, turmeric, Parmesan, 1 teaspoon salt, and plenty of pepper. Whisk until smooth before adding the cauliflower and stirring gently, trying not to break up the florets.
- Line the base and sides of a 9 1/2-inch/24-cm springform cake pan with parchment paper. Brush the sides with melted butter, then mix together the sesame and nigella seeds and toss them around the inside of the pan so that they stick to the sides. Pour the cauliflower mixture into the pan, spreading it evenly, and arrange the reserved onion rings on top. 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. 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.
Note
- I used black sesame seeds instead of nigella seeds and it worked out fine
- If you don’t have a springform pan, use a 9″ cake pan
- Can be made ahead and refrigerated. Rewarm before serving and serve warm, not hot
- Find more wonderful recipes from Yotam Ottolenghi in his “Plenty More” cookbook. You can find it in my Amazon aStore on the right column of my site in the cookbook section!
Adapted – thekitchn.com
(Printable recipe can be found in my recipe index under Side Dishes)