The ‘star’ featured this month for Cook Like A Star bloghop is Ree Drummond, more commonly known as The Pioneer Woman. I first come across her blog few years ago when I was only starting to get into cooking and sharing food posts online. The way she narrates her stories, the photographs she takes, and the simple dishes she makes were inspiring for me to widen my own repertoire. I like her so much, that I bought both of cookbooks, “The Pioneer Woman Cooks” and “Food from My Frontier”, I have even pre-ordered her latest cookbook “A Year of Holidays”.
There’s only one catch though. Ree cooks in a similar way as Nigella, just in different countries. A lot of the times they use ready-made stuff (sauces for Ree, pastry for Nigella), and tends to be a little bit on the unhealthy side (cream, butter, cheese, sugar, bacon…. all that stuff I’m trying to avoid at the moment), and that was why I haven’t used any of their recipes for ages. I prefer to make things from scratch. Nevertheless when it comes to busy times, Ree’s recipes can be very helpful. I have made the Cajun Chicken Pasta, The Hot & Sweet Drumsticks, Meatloaf (best recipe I’ve tried so far, but I modified it by adding a bit more vegetables), Mac n Cheese (normal and fancy version) and they all worked pretty well.
Flipping through her second cookbook, I bookmarked a few vegetarian side dishes and thought the Roasted Cauliflower looked pretty good and straightforward. A bit too straightforward, even. So I have changed it a little bit to make it tastier.
Roasted Cauliflower
Cauliflower is probably not many people’s favourite dish for it’s bland taste. But when cooked right, it can be a good vehicle for flavours. It’s also incredibly good for you: nutritiously dense, it’s low in fat, low in carbohydrates but high in dietary fiber, folate, water, and vitamin C. There has been plenty of studies to demonstrate cancer fighting properties too. So what if this dish contain a little bit of cheese and butter then, right? *wink*
I have halved her recipe for my personal consumption as I ate only that for my lunch today, and it was delicious.
Roasted Cauliflower (adapted from “The Pioneer Woman Cookes – Food from My Frontier” pg 220)
Half cauliflower head, separate into small florets
1 drizzle of olive oil
salt and black pepper
1 sprinkle of ground cumin
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/4 cup of Shredded Mozzarella and Cheddar
Preheat oven to 200C. Spread the cauliflower on a large baking tray and drizzle with olive oil. Add salt and pepper, and ground cumin and toss them evenly.
All ready to go into the oven.
Roast the cauliflower for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown with some darker parts.
Melt the butter then add the panko bread crumbs and mix well.
Place the cauliflower in a small baking dish top with the cheese, then mound the bread crumbs on top.
Looking pretty good so far, let’s take it a bit further.
Roast for 5-10 minutes until the bread crumbs are golden brown on top. Let cool a little before serving.
Love the golden hue!
Not much energy used in preparing this, but the flavours are comforting. The buttery bread crumbs paired so well with the tender cauliflowers. And I think a little bit of cheese just provided a bit more depth of flavour as well as moisture to the dish. I finished this in minutes. Yum.
Can you smell it from here?
I am submitting this to the “Cook Like Ree Drummond” event which I am co-hosting with Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Mich of Piece of Cake. To join, simply cook or bake any recipe from any Ree Drummond websites or cookbooks for the whole month of September 2013. You can link your posts at one of the host’s pages.
Oh, i think i did something similar too, but just sprinkle with salt & pepper with a bit of paprika and straight pop in the oven, slight crispy on the edges, great for snack though 😀
I love cauliflowers and broccoli but have not tried roasting them. Yours look delish! I agree with you that a lot of her recipes are pretty sinful! Have to work out a lot after eating them… haha!
That looks really good. Not a fan of our local cauliflower though, the ones in Sibu at least – it lacks the fragrance, probably imported, not so fresh unlike the ones I had in the UK. Just boil – so fragrant and nice…and I loved their cauliflower cheese. Yummmm!!!!.
Yeah the local one could be quite bland… Need a lot of seasoning. I often ass cauliflower to my mac and cheese as they go well together (pretty much cauliflower cheese with pasta I guess). Usually I buy organic ones.
I love butter too. If you must eat fat, eat the good fat! Hehe we already go through one block of Kerrygold weekly so I need to practise restraint…..just a bit.
Kelly Siew Cooks 
I love roasted cauliflower!!
Tastes very different from boiling and steaming! 🙂
Oh, i think i did something similar too, but just sprinkle with salt & pepper with a bit of paprika and straight pop in the oven, slight crispy on the edges, great for snack though 😀
Yum! I tried some of the pieces without the top, I think the bread crumbs adds a lovely texture to it. Maybe you can try it next time.
looks fab! i wonder if we could add some variety by mixing cauliflower and broccoli together in this recipe … hmmm…
Absolutely, but the broccoli might turn a bit brown.
I love cauliflowers and broccoli but have not tried roasting them. Yours look delish! I agree with you that a lot of her recipes are pretty sinful! Have to work out a lot after eating them… haha!
Yeap! She practises no restraints! Haha
Wow, great idea! Never thought of roasting cauliflower before. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Try it soon! It’s different.
That looks really good. Not a fan of our local cauliflower though, the ones in Sibu at least – it lacks the fragrance, probably imported, not so fresh unlike the ones I had in the UK. Just boil – so fragrant and nice…and I loved their cauliflower cheese. Yummmm!!!!.
Yeah the local one could be quite bland… Need a lot of seasoning. I often ass cauliflower to my mac and cheese as they go well together (pretty much cauliflower cheese with pasta I guess). Usually I buy organic ones.
Hi Kelly,
I agree with you that Ree is a buttah or shortening girl… :p I like butter but like you said, I try to eat it in moderation…
Yeah… I think that I can smell the fragrance of your roasted cauliflower from my computer screen or maybe I’m feeling hungry :p
Zoe
I love butter too. If you must eat fat, eat the good fat! Hehe we already go through one block of Kerrygold weekly so I need to practise restraint…..just a bit.
Cauliflower seems to always go so well with cheese! This dish looks delicious!
Yes! The cheese always enhances the taste of cauliflower.
Looks fab. Toasted on cheese on top is always a winner in my book. 🙂
Yeah! The more cheese the better!
looks like comfort in a bowl… I love Ree too! Your version is healthy, I would have added bechamel on mine… lol
Oh then it would just be cauliflower cheese hahaha, totally change the recipe. I do that a lot btw.