Miso Roasted Cauliflower
Meat and three veg was the norm for dinner when I was a kid, meat cooked well done and vegetables boiled for half an hour. Potatoes and carrots could withstand that treatment, they kept their structure and a modicum of flavour but cruciferous vegetables, especially cauliflower and brussels sprouts developed a pungeant odour and a repugnant taste. I refused point blank to eat them and left the table forgoing dessert.
Twenty years later fading memory gave me the courage to taste these vegetables again. An Italian friend served me cauliflower fritters and I was hooked at first bite. I now love it raw, lightly steamed and made into soup.
Food trends have changed and now multicultural influences impact on the way we cook and eat. Roasting has become the darling of the cauliflower recipe repertoire. I recently roasted mini cauliflowers coated in spice and served them beside Moroccan lamb which in a roundabout way brought me to oven baked cauliflower with red miso. I now love cauliflower roasted too!
Cauliflower’s mild nutty sweetness is happy to sit in the background of the assertive umami laden flavour of red miso which makes an extra good partnership.
Miso Roasted Cauliflower
1 small cauliflower
1 tablespoon peanut oil
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 spring onions, sliced
miso dressing:
3 tablespoons red miso paste
1 tablespoon castor sugar
1 tablespoon mirin
1 tablespoon sake
Preheat the oven to 180C fan forced. Line an ovenproof tray with baking paper.
Break the cauliflower into large florets, then in a bowl, toss through the oils, salt pepper and chilli.
Arrange the cauliflower in a single layer on the paper lined tray and roast for 10 minutes.
While the cauliflower is in the oven, mix together the miso dressing ingredients in a small bowl.
Remove the cauliflower from the oven, return it to the bowl, toss through the miso dressing to coat then again, spread the cauliflower in a single layer on the paper lined tray.
Roast for another 10 minutes or until the miso begins to caramelise.
Arrange on a serving plate and scatter with spring onions.
Serves 4-6
Loosely adapted from Adam Liaw’s Miso Roasted Eggplant from Asian After Work
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34 comments on “Miso Roasted Cauliflower”
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Please Pass the Recipe by Sandra Gay is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
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Very nice! It might even get me to eat cauliflower 😉
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Enjoy….
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Love miso on and in just about anything but have never dreamed of tossing it through roasted cauli. Genius idea! Can’t wait to try this.
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Hi Saskia, nice to see you. Hope you’re settling back into Melbourne’s winter after your incredible trip. I’m way behind with reading commenting and replying, desperately in need of some down time. Enjoy the miso cauli….
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I can totally relate to being way behind with reading/commenting. Enjoy the down time 🙂
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Oh yes, miso and cauli….why hello, pleased to meet you. Will certainly be coming to a kitchen in my house soon, thanks Mrs R. (I feel like I should start calling you Sandra but I am a bit hooked on Mrs Recipe still….)
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Call me what you like, just don’t call me late for dinner!!
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I enjoy roasted cauliflower but I just toss it with olive oil, salt and pepper. I can’t wait to give your version a try, I know it will be great.
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Thanks Karen….
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Love cauliflower and miso, would never have thought of putting them together! Must try this ASAP!
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It’s a good combo Azita, enjoy…
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Sandra, this looks wonderful. I adore cauliflower, especially roasted. And miso? Perfect.
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Thanks Michelle
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Oh Sandra! I love cauliflower but I have never tried them with a miso dressing. It sounds delicious!
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Cauliflower and miso are a super tasty combo Francesca, give it a try….
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Will need to Pin this! I love roasted cauliflower and the kids do too. I remember my grandma cooking veggies to their mushy death, how I hated eating veggies at her house!
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Thankfully we’ve learned to cook vegies more kindly and creatively. I wonder what our Grandmas would think
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No wonder I never liked brussels sprouts. I do now. And I love my roasted cauli. Your recipe sounds quite tasty. I’ll have to try using miso paste.
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Miso is wonderful Mary, do give it a try..
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Oh Sandra, miso roasted veggies are the best! Have you tried Japanese miso roasted aubergine? Delicious! I haven’t tried cauliflower yet, but as I love it prepared in any way, I am sure I’d love a miso version!
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We love miso roasted eggplant too Darya. I’m going to try the miso dressing on pumpkin next..
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Such an interesting recipe Sandra… just need to track down some miso paste and a cauliflower and I’m good to go! Great to also spot your related posts up above, with those cauliflower and feta fritters – salivating, just thinking about them! 😛
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Thanks Margot. The related posts are a great feature that just happens to come with my freebie theme. It’s very affective for leading readers to older posts. I think your boys would like miso, it’s umami laden and really helps vegies along…
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Two notes for self for the morning: One – find the miso and scrap tomorrow night’s planned menu! Two: go take a look at this particular book of Adam Liaw’s you always meant to buy . . .
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Liaw’s simple recipes are great guides though I tend to modify them to suit myself. Cauliflower lends itself to embellishment and miso works well
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I bet this is lovely as it is with a nice cold beer.
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I hadn’t thought about serving miso cauliflower as a snack with beer, but I think it would be delicious
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Lovely- the miso, sugar, sake and mirin would convert any cauliflower doubter. Must bookmark this one.
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Thanks Francesca, it really was delicious!
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I love roasted cauliflower too, and this recipe looks delicious. Thanks for sharing.
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The sweet savoury flavours of miso were delicious with the roasted cauli Ann….
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It looks like I am going to have to give cauliflower a chance. I’ve overcome the prohibition on Brussel sprouts, but it took a long time. When I was a child, I always thought sprouts were grey rather than green. I like this pairing of “nutty” flavour (though still need to be convinced that it is cauli) with the salty miso. And, those cauliflower fritters sound interesting. Please pass the recipe!
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I loathed cauliflower for years so I know how you feel! Be brave….
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