Cauliflower Cake Recipe from Yotam Ottolenghi
March 12, 2015 / By Greg Henry
This savory Cauliflower Cake is and isn’t from Yotam Ottolenghi’s newest cookbook, Plenty More.
I say it is and isn’t, not because it isn’t. Because it is. It’s in the book. It really is. But it isn’t from the book. Meaning I’d come across this beautiful, though unusual, bit of masterful cookery (as Mr. Ottolenghi might say) before I’d ever heard of superstar Chef Yotam Ottolenghi. It’s quite amemorable recipe. One I’m sure Iwill neverforget.
When Ifirst got my hands on the cookbook Plenty More Inaturally began to flip through it. When Icame to this recipe for Cauliflower Cake– Ijust had to stop in my tracks. Not just because the photo of this cake is so beautiful (though it is!) but because Ihad the strangest feeling of deja vu. Iwas certain I’d come across this Cauliflower Cake somewhere before.
So Iturned to Google for the answer. It turns out quite afew bloggers have recently had great success with Yotam Ottolenghi’s Cauliflower Cake and it seems they were all introduced to it through the recent publication of Plenty More, including abeautiful version from the blog She Paused for Thought (a site Ivisit regularly). However my deja vu seemed too eerie to have had its genesis just afew weeks ago. No, I’m sure I’d come across this Cauliflower Cake long before it appeared in Plenty More. Is that possible, Iwondered…
So back to the search engines Iwent, where Isoon found that Smitten Kitchen made this Cauliflower Cake way back in2010!
Egads, Ithought to myself. Have Idiscovered abit of online intrigue? Is there scuttlebutt in the making? Will it become my responsibility to expose this caper and all of its nefarious players?
However, Ishould not have let theconspiracy theorist that lives in my head get the best of me. Upon closer inspection Isaw that Smitten Kitchen got the recipe from achap named Yotam, who supplied the recipe (way back in 2010) to The Guardian (a British national daily newspaper that also has an online edition). Which makes sense because Imake The Guardian aregular read. Especially the food section.
Scandal averted. GREG
Expand Recipe…
Yotam Ottolenghi’s Cauliflower Cake
By: GregHenry
Print ThisRecipeTotal time Yield 8–10Source Adapted from Plenty More, by Yotam OttolenghiPublished
Yotam Ottolenghi’s original recipe indicated 45 minutes of baking. Ifound that amount of time was not quite enough. Ichanged the baking time to 50 minutes. Please test the center yourself before taking this cake from the oven.GREG
Ingredients
- 1 small cauliflower, outer leaves removed, broken into 1¼‑inch/3‑cm florets (1 pound/450 g)
- 1 medium red onion, peeled (6 ounce/170 g)
- 5 tablespoon olive oil (75 ml)
- ½ teaspoon finely chopped rosemary
- 7 eggs
- ½ cup chopped fresh basil leaves
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted (120 g)
- 1 ½teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 5 ounce coarsely grated Parmesan or another mature cheese (150 g)
- Salt and black pepper (to taste)
- Melted unsalted butter (as needed for brushing)
- 1 tablespoon white sesame seeds
- 1 teaspoon nigella seeds (optional)
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C.
Place the cauliflower florets in asaucepan and add 1teaspoon salt. Cover with water and simmer for 15 minutes, until the florets are quite soft. They should break when pressed with aspoon. Drain and set aside in acolander todry.
Cut 4round slices off one end of the onion (each ¼inch/5 mm thick) and set aside. Coarsely chop the rest of the onion and place in asmall pan with the oil and rosemary. Cook for 10 minutes over medium heat, stirring from time to time, until soft. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. Transfer the onion to alarge bowl, add the eggs and basil, whisk well, and then add the flour, baking powder, turmeric, Parmesan, 1teaspoon salt, and plenty of pepper. Whisk until smooth before adding the cauliflower and stirring gently, trying not to break up the florets.
Line the base and sides of a9 ½‑inch/24-cm spring-form cake pan with parchment paper. Brush the sides with melted butter, then mix together the sesame and nigella seeds and toss them around the inside of the pan so that they stick to the sides. Pour the cauliflower mixture into the pan, spreading it evenly, and arrange the reserved onion rings on top. Place in the center of the oven and bake for 50 minutes, until golden brown and set; aknife inserted into the center of the cake should come out clean. Remove from the oven and leave for at least 20 minutes before serving. It needs to be served just warm, rather than hot, or at room temperature.
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