This is a song about cauliflowers. They keep ya regular

In my search for reliably (according to the research) cholesterol-lowering, or at any rate, cholesterol-not-increasing recipes that are tasty in their own right, I've come across a few curries with cauliflower.  Not all of the methods of cooking cauliflower are equal, but what I am about to describe produces a cooked vegetable of such lip-smacking gobberiooness that it should be declared illegal.  This can't be as good for you (or as not-as-bad for you) as it is, but it is, it is.

Roast Cauliflower

Ingredients

One head of cauliflower
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

In addition - cumin, garlic, chilli.  This method of preparing cauliflower can handle any number of flavour additions, but really, all you need is cauliflower, olive oil, salt and pepper.  It's a good idea to try this without any additions first and then experiment later.

Turn your oven on to a medium heat - say 180 - 190 deg C, or the gas equivalent.  Break up the cauliflower into florets about 2 -3 cm across; if they are too big, chop them a bit so that there's a 'head' on each piece.  Put them into a bowl and give them a good splosh of olive oil (maybe about a tablespoon?), a good pinch of salt (I do use Maldon, but ordinary salt would probably do) and a good grind or two of black pepper.  Move them around the bowl with an apposite spoon until all of the olive oil has been picked up by the florets - it tends to get absorbed into the heads and you want every head to have absorbed at least some olive oil.  It will come out in cooking.

Toss the florets into a roasting dish (I'm sure a baking tray would do equally well) and roast for 20 - 30 minutes in the middle of the oven.  You want the florets to be substantially browned, maybe with some blackened bits.  Here's a picture of some I've done today:

(The picture's a bit rubbish, but you get the idea, particularly with reference to how browned it should be).

The thing was, this was a very small cauliflower, and the smell of the roast cauliflower is so delicious and the taste so brilliant that you can't help but eat two or three florets as soon as it comes out of the oven (although it's better to wait until it's cooled down a bit). That's why the tray looks a bit empty.

The roast cauliflower can then be added to Indian vegetarian curries or just eaten on its own.  I suspect it would puree very well if you were into doing that.  Although smoked  cauliflower puree, which I had once, is even tastier, this is pretty close to the vegetable pot-of-gold, in terms of something that's really tasty and chunky enough to form the basis of a dish.

That picture up there, by the way, has had a teaspoonful of cumin (jeera) seed added to the cauliflower before it went into the oven.  The smell was heavenly!  Seriously, try this.