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ROASTED CAULIFLOWER & SHALLOT SOCCA SERVES 4–6

Also known as farinata, this chickpea pizza-type thing was my favourite thing to eat on tour. I ate it in thin, crispy slices on the seaside in the Cinque Terre; battered and fried and stuffed into bread as a late night snack in Sicily; and straight out of a portable oven in a marche in the south of France. It can be comfort street food but it can also be a super-easy, crowd-pleasing party food or an entrée. It sounds kinda complex but it’s actually incredibly easy as soon as you’ve done it once, and it is 100 per cent worth it. This recipe makes a fairly substantial version of socca. If you want a thinner, crispier version just make this into two ‘pizzas’ or reduce by a third or a half. Also if you have a small cast iron pan, split the mixture into two. You can do this with the veg, without the veg, with other veg or herbs. Play around with it.

TOPPING

2 shallots ¼ cauliflower

SOCCA

2 cups chickpea flour

1 tablespoon flaky sea salt

1 tablespoon rosemary, finely chopped a crack of black pepper

1¾ cups cold water

1 tablespoon olive oil

3–4 tablespoons olive oil for cooking

Preheat oven to 200°C. Peel shallots and keep whole. Cut cauliflower into florets. Toss both in olive oil and salt and spread on a baking tray. Bake for 25–30 minutes until cauli is taking some colour and shallots are soft. Remove and set aside.

Heat your oven to its hottest setting, likely 250°C, and allow it to heat while you make the batter.

Add flour, salt, rosemary and pepper to a bowl. Slowly add the water whilst whisking to incorporate. Chickpea flour wants to clump so you have to do this a little carefully. Once combined, add the oil and mix well. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Place a cast iron pan (any ovenproof pan will work but cast iron is best) into the oven. Once the pan is smoking hot, carefully remove from the oven, coat liberally in the rest of your olive oil, pour in the batter and arrange your cauliflower and sliced shallots on top.

Place back into the oven and cook for 10 minutes until you can see the edges going golden and the top is firm. If you’ve reduced the quantities this will be 6–8 minutes.

Remove, sprinkle with extra sea salt and fresh rosemary. Serve hot as squares or pizza slices.

CAULIFLOWER DAUPHINOISE SERVES 6

Gratin or dauphinoise is traditionally a super-rich dish of layered potatoes with cream and sometimes cheese. This version is made entirely of cauliflower and potato but it’s rich and creamy, with a crunchy, crispy top. And look, I’m not saying you should use this dish to trick family and friends into eating more vegetables… but if they just happen to eat extra vegetables whilst you’re feeding them delicious food, where’s the harm?

cauliflower cream (see recipe below)

⅓ cup soy cream (or plant milk such as soy or oat) 5 medium to large starchy potatoes pinch nutmeg (optional)

¼–⅓ cup vegan butter or dairy-free margarine

Prepare cauliflower cream as per recipe. Add cream or milk and stir to combine. Adjust seasoning if needed – you’ll need to make sure there is plenty of salt in this because potatoes love salt.

Preheat your oven to 180°C. Slice the potatoes very thinly using a mandoline or speed peeler (or cut as thinly as you can with a sharp knife). Place potato slices and cream into a large bowl and combine gently with your hands until all potato slices are well coated.

Layer your potatoes in a greased oven dish. Top with any leftover cream, some black pepper and a pinch of nutmeg (optional). Then dot with little scoops or cubes of vegan butter all over. Cover with a lid or foil and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes. Remove the lid and bake for a further 10 minutes. If you want a slightly browned top you may like to switch to grill for a further 5 minutes. Serve hot as a side dish.

CAULIFLOWER CREAM

MAKES 1–2 CUPS (DEPENDING ON THE SIZE OF YOUR CAULI)

4 cloves garlic

1 shallot or small onion

1 medium head cauliflower

½ cup plant milk (oat or soy work well – you may need

a little extra depending on size of cauli) 2 tablespoons dairy-free butter

1 teaspoon flaky sea salt black pepper to taste pinch nutmeg

Peel garlic and onion. Leave garlic whole, slice onion. Roughly chop cauliflower into chunks. Add all ingredients to a large pot and bring to the boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes until cauli is soft. Transfer to a blender and blend until smooth and luscious. Taste and season if needed.