RECIPE // Vegan Roasted Cauliflower With Caramelised Puree, Pickled Sultanas + Dukkah

It’s so much easier to eat and cook delicious vegan food in recent years and we love it when a local Head Chef embraces all things veggie by adding vegan dishes onto the menu of Hickory’s Restaurant at the beautiful Peppers Craigieburn in Bowral.

We caught up with Mark Holland of Hickory’s Restaurant recently – read our chat here  – and while we were there, asked for one of his favourite recipes to share with you guys. 

“Working with veggies, nuts and spices means you can create really tasty vegan dishes,” says Mark.

“There’s a few moving parts to this recipe but it’s worth just working your way through it all because the taste and health benefits of eating a dish like this or serving it up to friends or family is worth it.”

Okay, here’s Mark’s recipe – give it a try and let us know how you go!

Vegan Roasted cauliflower, caramelised cauliflower puree, spinach, mint, pickled golden sultanas, walnut + sesame dukkah

Serves 2 as a main course or 4 as a side dish

There’s a few parts to this delicious recipe – let’s start with the roasted cauliflower.

1 :: ROASTED CAULIFLOWER

Ingredients

1 whole cauliflower [outer leaves removed, cut in half through the root, then cut into a flat steak about two inches in from the root, retain the remaining cauliflower pieces for the puree]. 

Method

1. Steam or blanch the cauliflower steak for roughly 10 minutes depending on size until you can insert a knife into the root easily 
2. Leave the cauliflower steak to chill until service

Now let’s talk about the super tasty caramelised cauliflower puree…..

2 :: CARAMELISED CAULIFLOWER PUREE

Ingredients

Remaining cauliflower trim 

1 onion – peeled and sliced

2 cloves garlic – peeled and chopped

Olive oil 

Salt & pepper 

Lemon 

Method

1. Brown the onion in a heavy based saucepan with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil 
2. Add the garlic and a dash of water to create an emulsion
3. Tip in the remaining cauliflower trim and continue to roast on medium heat stirring constantly, scrape the base of the pan to lift up all the brown tasty bits, keep adding a dash of water at a time to create a smooth puree 
4. Transfer cauliflower mix into a blender and blend to a smooth puree 
5. Add salt and pepper and squeeze of lemon juice 
6. Set aside until service 

Then we have the spinach puree…

3 :: SPINACH PUREE

Ingredients

1 onion – peeled and sliced

2 cloves garlic – peeled and chopped

100g bag baby spinach 

Method

1. Sweat the onion and garlic in a heavy based sauce pan until soft and translucent 
2. Add the baby spinach and cook until wilted down with a pinch of salt and pepper and 50ml water 
3. Transfer to a blender, blend until smooth, add lemon juice and transfer to a bowl over ice to chill quickly and to retain the green colour 
4. Set aside until service

And then we have these cheeky pops of yum….

4 :: PICKLED SULTANAS

Ingredients

150g golden sultanas

100ml cider vinegar 

100ml caster sugar 

Method

1. Bring vinegar and sugar up to the boil to dissolve sugar
2. Pour over the sultanas and leave to pickle ( you can keep these in the fridge for weeks after this)
3. Set aside for service

5 :: SESAME + WALNUT DUKKAH

Ingredients

150g chopped walnuts 

1 teaspoon fennel seeds 

2 tablespoons sesame seeds 

2 tablespoons coriander seeds 

1 tablespoon cumin seeds 

1 teaspoon nigella seeds 

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper 

2 teaspoon flaky salt 

1 teaspoon ground black pepper 

Method 

1. Dry roast nuts in the oven at 180oc for 4 minutes 
2. Dry roast in a heavy based fry pan the cumin, coriander nigella and sesame seeds until fragrant 
3. Pulse the walnuts and seeds in the blender until roughly chopped. Do not blend for too long or make too fine as it will turn to a paste 
4. Set aside for service 

Now let’s put it all together!!

6 :: SERVE IT UP

You’ll need a few extra ingredients 

1 bunch mint 

1 bag mixed salad leaves 

Olive oil

Method 

1. In a large heavy based fry pan add some olive oil and shallow the fry the cauliflower steaks, leave for two minutes on each side until golden brown and caramelised, transfer to the oven and roast at 180oc for another 8 minutes 
2. Warm up both purees to room temperature, smear the spinach puree on the serving plate and place three tablespoons of the cauliflower puree around the plate 
3. Sprinkle 6 of the pickled sultanas on the plate, remove the cauliflower from the oven and place gently on the spinach puree, sprinkle two or three more sultanas on top and season with salt and pepper and drizzle of olive oil 
4. Scatter some mixed leaf salad over the top and then scatter two tablespoons of dukkha over the cauliflower. 
5. One more drizzle of olive oil to finish 
6. Enjoy as a main course or served as a side

The atmosphere of Hickory’s Restaurant and Bar at Peppers Craigieburn is classic yet contemporary. The menu has been given a fab refresh thanks to Head Chef, Mark Holland and of course, those views across the golf course are always special. You can book a table online or call the team on 4862 8005. Definitely worth a visit to check out Mark’s new menu.