Pot roast cauliflower

This is yet another recipe inspired by our lunch at Noma in Copenhagen, although this time it’s probably a more direct translation as I found an article online in which Jay Rayner gets to cook with Rene Redzepi and they make the very same pot roast cauliflower that we enjoyed as one of our twenty courses at lunch. In my interpretation I do away with the pine branches, juniper sprigs and yoghurt whey and go with more comfy flavours of garlic, thyme, anchovy and crème fraiche.

Really, this knocks any other cauliflower dishes into a cocked hat. Sure, that’s a strong boast. Don’t scoff at that boast until you’ve tried it yourself. Oh, and feel free to skip the anchovies if they aren’t your thing.

Pot roast cauliflower

1. Trim the cauliflower head of all its leaves and cut the stalk close to the bottom florets
2. Get a casserole on a medium-high heat, and once hot add the butter, garlic cloves (peeled and squashed), bay leaf and thyme. The butter will immediately start to brown.
3. Dip the cauliflower florets in the butter, then up-end it and put the whole cauliflower head in the pot, stalk downwards. Stick the lid on and turn the heat down to fairly low.
4. After about 15-20 minutes, turn the cauliflower head over. The stalk end should now have some nutty brown colour (and flavour!), so now the florets on top can colour too.
5. After another 15 minutes check the cauliflower – when it is cooked right through so a knife slips in easily then you can turn off the heat and take it out of the pot
6. Add the chopped anchovies to the butter and juices in the pot, stir until they dissolve, then add the crème fraiche and stir the sauce together. Strain it through a sieve to get rid of the bits of herb and garlic.
7. Cut the head in half (for 2 people) or into quarters (as a side portion for 4) and serve with the sauce drizzled over. You won’t be disappointed