Certain vegetables go through phases of social media popularity, which sometimes borders on obsession. Cauliflower had its 15 minutes of fame about a year ago, when it became trendy in foodie circles to substitute your rice for ‘cauli-rice’, or make a bowl of ‘cauli-oats’ for breakfast. I’m not mocking either of these trends – hello, I put courgette in my oats every morning and I frickin’ LOVE it. I don’t judge foodie preferences or trends (only the truly ridiculous ones). I tried cauli-rice a few times, and I did like it, but I didn’t LOVE it. I never made cauli-oats to be honest. However, one cauli-trend I LOVE is roasted cauliflower ‘wings.’ Roasted vegetables in general are such a delicious way to get some of your 10 a day in, especially since you can vary the spices or herbs you roast them in, so you’ve always got a variety of flavours to choose from.

This recipe is a spicy twist on roasted cauliflower, which my family and I love to have as a side dish for a barbeque dinner, or with our Sunday roast. Its also a great meal prep recipe, as you can pair it with a protein and carb portion for a macro and micro-happy meal! So if all of this sounds thumbs up to you, read on, I hope you like this recipe!

Recipe

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp coconut oil
• 1/2 tsp sweet paprika
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tbsp mild curry powder
• 1/2 large head of cauliflower
• 2 handfuls of fresh spinach leaves, washed
• Pinch of sea salt and ground black pepper
• 1 lemon, cut into small wedges

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200C (fan oven).
2. While heating the oven, roughly chop the cauliflower into chunky florets, and place into a large bowl.
3. Add the spices to a small bowl and give them a quick stir to combine.
4. When the oven is ready, melt the coconut oil in a bowl in the microwave (usually takes about 1 minute).
5. Cover the cauliflower chunks in coconut oil, and stir with a spoon so the florets are coated evenly.
6. Tip the spices over the cauliflower and stir again to coat the florets evenly.
7. Add the cauliflower to the roasting tray, and place in the oven for approximately 25-30 minutes, until the cauliflower florets are a browned and a little charred at the edges.
8. Remove from the oven, add the spinach leaves and stir it all again in the tray.
9. Serve with a lemon wedge to squeeze on top!

Enjoy guys! This is a gorgeous side dish to have in your back pocket for the summer – my family and I love having it with a barbeque! Tag me if you try it out – @theirishbalance on Instagram or Twitter!

Ciara 🙂 x