Radical New Roasted Veggies

Both of the recipes below have been adapted by Cafe Drake from the genius cookbook Radically Simple by Rozanne Gold; small changes made merely reflected our personal tastes and ingredient availability (i.e. what was in the fridge).

ROASTED RADISHES

Author Gold's version calls for grated Parmesan, and while no doubt an utterly delicious addition, our further simplified preparation boasted flavors powerful enough to omit the cheese.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Wash and trim 1 bunch of radishes (red, icicle, French breakfast etc) and cut in halves lengthwise. Toss well with 1-2 T. olive oil and place on a baking sheet. Roast for 25 minutes, shaking the pan a couple of times while the radishes cook.

Remove from oven and toss with salt and black pepper to taste. Serve warm or at room temperature.

ROASTED CAULIFLOWER "STEAKS"

Coring and carefully trimming/slicing the cauliflower takes either practice or good knife skills. Like most things in Life, Cafe Drake got the hang of it the second time around. Some of the florets will inevitable fall apart but just toss them on the baking sheet along with the perfectly sliced cauliflower specimens. We substituted a dry, aged Provolone for the suggested Cheddar cheese and loved the tangy/salty results.

Begin by coring an entire head of cauliflower; to do this without breaking apart the vegetable, a long thin knife works best. Cut the head into two pieces then slice the cauliflower into large pieces, about 1/2" thick. Place sliced cauliflower on a large baking sheet (or use two smaller ones) and drizzle with 3-4 T. olive oil. Salt and pepper well. Place in a hot oven, about 450 degrees.

Roast for 15 minutes then carefully flip each slice. Roast for another 10 minutes or until tender and golden brown. Remove from oven and dust with finely grated aged Provolone ( or Parmesan, Romano, Asiago etc). Sprinkle on top either fresh or dried rosemary leaves and crown with a final splash of your best olive oil. Cafe Drake served ours with brown rice and tossed salad.