Eat like royalty with this 'Super' recipe
I fell in love with British superstar chef Jamie Oliver during his "Jamie at Home" years.
The half-hour series was filmed in 2006 and 2007 at his Essex, England, home and garden where vegetables grew and butterflies flitted and, seemingly, nothing ever went wrong.
Oliver would crank up a wood-fired oven that sat on one edge of the garden. He'd harvest a selection of perfectly imperfect carrots, beets, potatoes, beans, herbs or whatever else was ready that day. He'd casually rinse and chop them on a wooden bench, then toss them into a red hot pan and stick them into that oven. By the end of the show, he was squatting on a rock in his pumpkin patch sampling what looked to be the most delicious and righteous meal ever made.
His pots and pans were all bashed in and mismatched, his bowls were chipped, and he sometimes had to chase a spider out of a bowl or glass before filling it with whatever he'd made that day.
I've loved him ever since, even when he was ranting in his TED talk and raising a ruckus here and abroad about school nutrition, or being soundly thrashed by PETA for promoting British pork, or coming off as out-of-touch when it comes to poverty in Britain.
Over the years, Oliver has produced a lot of television and even more cookbooks, seeming to follow his own interests as he decided what to tackle next. He has managed to link his television series and his books to these projects and has created a multimedia empire that includes an enormous social media presence (his youTube channel has nearly 2.3 million subscribers).
His latest book, "Everyday Super Food," is the result of turning 40, he writes in the forward, and deciding to take his own health — and his eating habits — more seriously. He consulted with nutrition experts, scientists and doctors and traveled to some of the world's healthiest places to do his own research. The aim of the book, he writes, is to provide breakfast, lunch and dinner recipes — 30 each — that are correctly proportioned, full of vitamins and nutrients, low in calories and, most importantly, delicious.
I like the new book. I find the advice practical and sensible. The recipes are not too difficult, and the ingredients he uses are not too exotic. If you have any vegetarian or less-meat tendencies, you'll find a lot of interesting, flavorful options here.
I started with Oliver's Indian Roasted Cauliflower, Pineapple and Chile in Coronation Dressing. It's such a clever and modern twist on that traditional British stalwart, Coronation Chicken. That original recipe was created for Queen Elizabeth II's 1953 coronation by London Le Cordon Bleu cooking school founder Rosemary Hume.
Although originally a high-brow dish — chicken poached in a fragrant broth, then dressed with a mix of lemon juice, apricot purée, mayonnaise and heavy cream — the dish has devolved over the years to a rather mundane curry chicken salad, made with leftover chicken, some apricot chutney, curry powder and mayonnaise.
Oliver's meatless version roasts cauliflower with pineapple and fennel and mustard seeds, adding chickpeas and sliced almonds about halfway through. His dressing is a tart, green, creamy concoction loaded with lemon juice, fragrant and spicy fresh ginger, cilantro stems and leaves, chutney and yogurt.
The end result is so unusual and so delicious. The sweetness from the roasted pineapple works beautifully with the spicy, tangy dressing, and the naan and chickpeas round out the dish and bring it together.
If you don't like cilantro, you can substitute flat leaf parsley, but I encourage you not to. I'm not a big fan of the controversial herb, but in this dish, its exotic green tang is not overpowering and works so well with the other dressing ingredients. Or, for a compromise, perhaps use half cilantro and half parsley. Go ahead. Be brave.
Enjoy!
Jill Blanchette is the multiplatform production editor at The Day. Share comments and recipes with her at j.blanchette@theday.com. Check out her blog, Spilling the Beans, at www.theday.com/spillingthebeans.
Indian Roasted Cauliflower, Pineapple, Chile, Coronation Dressing
"Everyday Super Food" by Jamie Oliver. (Jill Blanchette/The Day)
"Our humble but super-tasty friend cauliflower is really high in vitamin C and folic acid, both of which aid psychological function, helping us to think properly."
Jaime Oliver, "Everyday Super Food"
Serves 4
2 large heads of cauliflower (2½ pounds each)
Half a medium pineapple (1¼ pounds)
Olive oil
1 heaping teaspoon each of fennel seeds and black mustard seeds
Salt and pepper
1 ounce sliced almonds (I'd double this amount. You could substitute coarsely chopped peanuts.)
1 14-ounce can chickpeas
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 teaspoons medium heat curry powder (I used sweet curry)
Half a bunch of fresh cilantro (half an ounce)
1¼-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
Juice of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons mango chutney (I used hot chutney)
7 ounces plain yogurt
1 fresh red chile, thinly sliced or finely chopped (I didn't have one)
2 whole-grain naan breads
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Chop the cauliflower into large florets. Cook in a large pan of boiling water for 6-8 minutes, then drain well and tip into a large roasting pan.
Peel and core the pineapple, then chop half of it into bite-size chunks and add to the roasting pan with 1 tablespoon olive oil, the fennel and mustard seeds, a pinch of salt and a couple of grinds of black pepper. Toss together and roast for 30 minutes. (After tossing, I divided the mix between two pans to ensure roasting and avoid steaming.)
After 30 minutes, turn everything over then add the almonds and the drained chickpeas and roast until the cauliflower has gotten some good browning. Wrap the naan in foil and warm it in the oven while the cauliflower finishes cooking, 10-15 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the coronation dressing. Toast the turmeric and curry powder in a dry pan on low heat for a couple of minutes or you really bring out the fragrance. Add the toasted spices to the pitcher of a blender along with the fresh ginger slices, the lemon juice, the chutney and half the yogurt. Set aside some nice looking cilantro leaves and add the rest, including the stems, to the blender. Puree the mixture until it's super smooth, then stir in the remaining yogurt by hand. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
To serve, pour the coronation dressing onto a large platter. (Or if you're planning on having leftovers, divide half the sauce between two dinner plates. Refrigerate the remaining dressing.) Pile the roasted cauliflower mix on top of the dressing and sprinkle on the chile slices and the cilantro leaves. Use the warm naan for dunking and scooping.
Original recipe from "Everyday Super Food" by Jamie Oliver.
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