Cauliflower with Nuts and Cranberries
A delightful week night side dish; quick, easy with a slight hint of spice. The cauliflower florets are cooked in the pan till tender and then sprinkled with nuts, dried fruits, green onions and some dressing.
Cauliflower is considered pretty unremarkable by a lot of people; not so colorful, known for its “notorious” odor when cooked and it is bypassed by many. Not in our home. We love our cauliflowers; be it be any time of the year, this vegetable holds a favorite corner in our kitchen. What I love about it is the numerous ways it can be cooked and served. The florets absorb flavors and colors really well, so it works wonders in all kinds of cuisines.
This time it is a very very simple recipe, not needing a whole lot of ingredients. I have used pecans and cranberries since I am seeing plenty of both, but this will work well with any kind of nuts and dried fruits.
Cauliflower with Nuts and Cranberries
Ingredients:
- 1 Head Cauliflower, broken in to medium sized pieces
- 1.5 Tablespoons Oil
- 1/4 Teaspoon Cumin Seeds
- 1/4 Teaspoon Coriander Powder
- Salt
- Crushed Red Pepper
- 1/2 Cup Dried Cranberries
- 1/2 Cup Nuts, Lightly Toasted (Use any nut: Walnut/Almond/Pine Nuts/Pecans)
- 6-7 Stalks of Scallions/Green Onion, Green + White, cut into small pieces
For Dressing:
- 2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1/2 Teaspoon Honey (Optional, if you want a tinge of sweet along with the cranberries)
- 1 Tablespoon Wine Vinegar
Preparation:Break the cauliflower head into medium sized florets. Wash and drain.
In a skillet or a flat bottomed pan, add the 1.5 tablespoon oil, some of the red crushed pepper, cumin seeds and the coriander powder and switch on the heat. When the seeds start to just sizzle immediately add the cauliflower pieces. (Take care here, not to wait too long with the spices in the hot oil, they quickly burn!). Increase the heat, toss the cauliflower so the oil and the spices coat the pieces. Fry while tossing frequently till the florets get small brown spots.
Add 1/4 cup of water and salt in the pan, reduce the heat to low and cover it with a tight lid. Let it cook for 6-8 minutes or till the cauliflower is tender but not mushy and falling to pieces.
Switch off the heat; take the pan off the heat and add the scallions, toasted nuts and the cranberries and toss till well combined. Pour the dressing and more crushed red pepper and toss well.
Serve warm as a side.
We loved this dish. It works best when you let the cauliflowers rest for a while with the dressing and the scallions in it. It tasted great warm and was also very good the next day when we had some left overs. It was almost like a finger food (a healthy one) for my kids – they picked up the cauliflowers, nuts and cranberries and finished bowlful of it in no time.
Serve it as a salad or a side dish.
Folks, here I am apologizing again for not visiting your blogs in time and leaving comments. I am not promising that I can do so. At this moment I have something more important to attend to; my family, my kids, their activities, holidays, our upcoming vacations.My blogging has been sidetracked. I have been reading all of your posts when I am finding time, but not always leaving a comment. It is only for a few hours a week that I have set aside for preparing my posts and blog hopping and I know it is not enough time. But right now it just has to be this way. I have been getting emails from my readers and friends asking me why I haven’t been visiting them, I am really sorry, but I hope you will understand.
Related Posts:
Cauliflower with Nigella Seeds
Cauliflower Stir Fry in Ginger and Soy Sauce
Tags: autumn, autumn side, Brassica oleracea, cauliflower, cauliflower and cranberries, cauliflower and nuts, cauliflower cran berry salad, cauliflower nut salad, cauliflower salad, Coriander, cranberries, cruciferous vegatable, Cumin, dressing, easy cauliflower, extra virgin Olive oil, Fall, fall flavors, fall recipes, fall side, gluten free, Green onions, healthy cooking, healthy recipe, heart healthy recipe, Honey, how to cook cauliflower, indian, low carb, low fat, nuts, quick recipes, red pepper, Salad, seasonal cooking, seasonal food, side, side recipe, simple cauliflower recipe, spices, spicy cauliflower, Thanksgiving recipe, Thanksgiving side, vegan, vegetarian, warm side, what dressing to use in cauliflowers, wheat free, wine vinegar
Details 
November 14th, 2009 at 6:21 pm
Wow.this looks wonderful, colorful and delicious with all the nuts and dry fruits. Even we always have a cauliflower as part of veggies..back home even the greens of it were used and I do miss them here
November 14th, 2009 at 6:34 pm
This looks amazing. I believe everyone, even the not cauliflower lover, would love this with the nutty flavors of the nuts and the sweetness of the dried fruits
November 14th, 2009 at 7:07 pm
looks very good…….never used honey dressing with cauliflower but sounds inmteresting…
November 14th, 2009 at 8:09 pm
This looks fabulous! I’m already planning in making it tomorrow – but with dates instead of cranberries!
November 14th, 2009 at 8:55 pm
This makes me wish my daughter enjoyed cauliflower more… looks delicious!
November 14th, 2009 at 10:15 pm
amazing dish!! I just love cauliflower in any form….this on is so yummy and healthy. Lovely.
November 14th, 2009 at 10:58 pm
I love the sour with the spicy and the sweet going on in here! I have not thought to do cauliflower this way, Soma I have to try it this way!
November 14th, 2009 at 11:11 pm
[...] Read more here: Cauliflower with Nuts and Cranberries | eCurry – The Recipe Blog [...]
November 15th, 2009 at 6:41 am
I like cauliflower too…. looks delicious…. never tried nuts with cauliflower…. and as always, beautiful pictures.
November 15th, 2009 at 6:49 am
A refined dish! That combo sounds delightful!
Cheers,
Rosa
November 15th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
This looks so good. We love our cauliflower too. Now that I think of it, nuts with the cauliflower soft and the crunchy is a good combination.
November 15th, 2009 at 3:17 pm
I really love cauliflower and cranberries! What a delicious combination!
November 15th, 2009 at 3:26 pm
I love cauliflower and because I do I also don’t mind the fact that it does smell a bit once you’re cooking it… I still have some fresh cranberries in the fridge and am trying to decide what to do with them as I have never prepared fresh cranberries before… Would they work fresh in this dish as well? I would love to try it..
Simone it all depends on how good you like fresh cranberries. I find it too tart and too crunchy to be eaten raw & prefer it cooked/dried. My DD loves the fresh ones and she would love it if I added the fresh ones. Try it if you dare
November 15th, 2009 at 3:43 pm
Hello! Fantastic web site, I really like your writing style. Very distinctive and concise. On a lot of blogs people just drone on and on, but not you – very nice. I found your site while looking for another one on Bing. I don’t have time to read all the recipes right now, but I have bookmarked your site and will return very soon to see what’s new. I love reading about cooking, it is my favorite past-time. The recipes on your site are incredible. I can’t wait to try them out on my family. They think I’m nuts (and maybe they are right lol) when they see me at work in the kitchen. Please visit my recipe web site at http://www.KAChef.com. Thank you again for a very informative site. Keep up the great work!
November 15th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
Lovely! I made roasted cauliflower with cumin, coriander and pepper – but have never thought of dressing it up further. Great idea! Great flavours.
November 15th, 2009 at 9:30 pm
Wow Soma cauliflower with cranberries and nuts sounds an awesome combination!
November 15th, 2009 at 10:16 pm
I love cauli because I can really whip up under few min
This one is incredible with nuts and cran!
November 15th, 2009 at 10:21 pm
So healthy and gorgeous Soma! I love cauliflower and it’s so good for you too which is just such a nice bonus
November 16th, 2009 at 2:31 am
Nice dish Soma…never thought of adding nuts and fruits to cauliflower…will definitely try this one…thanks for the recipe dear…as always beautiful pics….
November 16th, 2009 at 3:15 am
Yummy.Never thght of adding nuts and berries to the veggies.Love the way you are turning out superb combos
November 16th, 2009 at 3:29 am
the dish looks wonderful. I love the cauliflowers especially the ones during season. this is quite a new combonation the soft cauliflowers with crunchu nuts. seems yummy
November 16th, 2009 at 4:04 am
This looks amazing. I believe everyone, even the not cauliflower lover, would love this with the nutty flavors of the nuts and the sweetness of the dried fruits
November 16th, 2009 at 7:09 am
What a delightful combination of vegetables, dried fruits and nuts. Must have tasted fantastic with layers of texture and crunch…definitely a must try !
November 16th, 2009 at 7:52 am
That looks beautiful and delicious! You should write a cookbook!
November 16th, 2009 at 8:05 am
Lovely, Soma!I am not very good at cooking cauliflower and this one of those delicious versions I have come across.Nuts in cauliflower sounds great!
November 16th, 2009 at 9:06 am
Crans in cauliflower is a great idea,can’t wait to try.I’ve been cooking like crazy with crans
November 16th, 2009 at 9:27 am
Cauliflower sounds yummy with nuts and cranberries!
November 16th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
Beautiful pictures Soma. Looks so soothing and pretty. We love cauliflower at home too. At least one vegetable that we are never tired of. I usually cook it the indian way without the fruits and nuts. But loved the idea of adding it.
November 16th, 2009 at 6:22 pm
I love nuts. I’m so going to try this. I have a cauliflower right now and tons of cranberries too!
Beautiful, Soma.
November 16th, 2009 at 6:33 pm
I will admit that I am not a huge cauliflower fan, however, I am in a phase where the combination of cranberry and nuts is something that I can’t get enough of. I’m going to have to try this. Thanks Soma!
November 17th, 2009 at 12:04 am
What an unusual recipe! Thanks for this
November 17th, 2009 at 5:48 am
I love the way you add nuts to most stuff … making a simple vegetable so wondorous.
Bhalo theko … rest niyo.
November 17th, 2009 at 8:31 pm
What a great recipe soma …. Yum.
I know a lot of people who dislike cauliflower but not me
I love my cauliflowers roasted in garlic and olive oil
Have a great week
November 17th, 2009 at 10:35 pm
I love the cauliflower-nut combination..just beautiful!
November 18th, 2009 at 9:06 am
Soma, your vegetarian side dishes are always so wonderful. This is a fabulous combination of flavors. I love cauliflower–and with the dried cranberries and nuts and all those fragrant spices it must have been delicious.
I have many of your recipes bookmarked, just waiting for me to try them and this one is getting added to the list.
November 18th, 2009 at 9:32 am
Cauliflower with cranberries?? Who would have thought! What a gorgeous summer salad this would make
November 18th, 2009 at 11:09 am
dish looks gorgeous! who wouldnt pounce on it??
bookmarked!
November 20th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
I love the look and sound of this! Gotta try it
November 21st, 2009 at 9:53 pm
[...] Sprinkle into your breakfast, salads, side dish or dessert as a condiment (try Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal, Cauliflower with Nuts and Cranberries) [...]