Spicy Roasted Cauliflower – A Tasty Appetizer or Side Dish

This spicy roasted cauliflower recipe is easy to make and tastes great alone as a side dish or served with hummus for a yummy appetizer.

It seems like cauliflower is everywhere I look.  I think it’s because many people are using it as a low carb substitute for potatoes. However, we have been eating cauliflower forever.

I remember that it was one of my mother’s go-to side dishes growing up. She would steam a whole head and then cover it with a delicious cheese sauce which made all of us kids dig in.

As a grown up I found that I really like the flavor of cauliflower when it’s roasted. A while back I made a great hearty and healthy roasted cauliflower and spinach soup. It was a big hit and one of my girlfriends mentioned that it was great for someone following Weight Watchers. I can’t remember the number exactly but I think it’s low in points.

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This time I decided to bump up the flavor with Moroccan spices and serve it as an appetizer.

When cutting up the cauliflower I tried to make thick slices so that they would work well for dipping. 

I’m using the same spice mix as I did in my Moroccan beef stew recipe. However, you can add or subtract from my spice mix or buy something like a traditional Moroccan spice blend known as Ras El Hanout.

The result was fantastic. We ended up eating it with grilled pork chops for dinner so even though my intention was to make an appetizer, it turned out to be a great side dish too. A little extra spice mix on top of traditional hummus made it even better.

In fact, my husband said this was one of the best recipes I’ve made so far. That made my day.

Spicy Roasted Cauliflower

Yield: 6-12

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

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Ingredients

• Florets of one head of cauliflower into bite-sized pieces
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground corriander
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Combine all spices in a small bowl.
3. Place cauliflower in a large bowl
4. Toss in olive oil
5. Toss in spices
6. Pour the cauliflower onto a large baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking oil or coated with olive oil.
7. Bake for 30 minutes turning over after 15 minutes.