Jerk Cauliflower with Rice and Peas

Well last night the weather outside was frightful. So Julie and I decided to bring a little bit of Caribbean sunshine into out lives with a delightful Jerk Chicken. Of course I couldn't eat it being a vegetarian but not wanting to miss out on the experience I decided to jerk a vegetable instead... but which one?  

Plantain was the obvious choice but the supermarket didn't have any in stock. I then remembered a delicious tandoori gobi (cauliflower) that I had in India and thought why not.

So here is my recipe for Jerk Cauliflower.  Of course it should always be served with some Jamaican Rice and Peas.

Ingredients

1 medium cauliflower

for the marinade
2-3 Scotch Bonnet Chillies
6 spring onions, trimmed and roughly chopped
20g fresh root ginger, 
4 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
1 tbsp Fresh Thyme, chopped 
1 tsp ground allspice
½ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp cinnamon
3 tbsp dark brown sugar
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1½ tsp dark soy sauce

Method

Simply put all the ingredients for the marinade in a food processor and blitz to make a thick paste.  I preferred mine to have a little bit of character and not too smoothly pasted.

Break the cauliflower up into florets and tip into an oven proof dish and smother with the jerk paste. Leave to marinade for as long as possible. 

It probably wouldn't make much of a difference with a cauliflower as it's not very absorbent but if you've got the time then why not.



Preheat the oven to 220C and bake for 35 minutes, stirring half way through. 

The verdict
The marinade was amazing, very fresh and tasty and worked well with the cauliflower. Perhaps next time I will have to try a plantain for a more "authentic" Caribbean taste experience.