How do you feel about the color purple, or purple with splashes of magenta? What about cauliflower, are you a fan or not so much? I love the color purple and cauliflower is a vegetable I’ve come to really enjoy. So when Mother Nature put these two elements together I felt like they were made for me…and you too of course. Living in a place where the most exotic produce, or even some that many of you consider everyday ingredients, aren’t always available means that when new products are introduced to the local market I don’t miss the opportunity to try them out. Such was the case in this gorgeously vibrant purple cauliflower.
How many of you have already tasted purple cauliflower? I have only seen it in photographs and in person only a few days ago. Honestly I wasn’t sure whether it was a colorful head of broccoli or cauliflower since it was displayed between both and without a sign, it was only after consulting the internet then it became clear.
For the most part the cauliflower is purple but there were specks of magenta and even lighter shades of a pinkish color. The scent was like that of it’s white counterpart, a light cabbage scent. Though the size of the head I purchase was comparable to white varieties stacked alongside it, the weight was considerably less. The purple one felt much lighter and the stalks are skinner and less dense. I loved that the leaves were green and some were purple with sprinklings of green and white along the lines.
When it comes to cooking a new ingredient I am always super excited and very inspired to photograph it. I know there are so many photos in this post but in fact many, many more photos were snapped — I just won’t bore you with all of them.
One of the things I love most about photography is that every once in a while everything falls into place better than you could have imagined it. That was the case in the photo above. As I played around with the leaves and shooting angles I suddenly noticed how the light was falling in that one small section, how it made it seem transparent and glowing at the same time. The shot came out somewhat abstract and the light couldn’t have been better.
I really don’t want to insult you with a typed recipe for roasting cauliflower, but I will share one anyway — incase there are any of you who have never eaten purple cauliflower and would like a little help cooking it.
- 1 head of purple cauliflower (weight was 700 gm or 1.5 lb)
- 2 tbsp good quality olive oil
- 1-2 tsp granulated garlic, adjust to taste (I used 2)
- sea salt to taste
- ground black pepper to taste
- fresh lemon juice, optional
- Preheat the oven to 200c or 390f and line a baking sheet with baking paper or aluminum foil. In a bowl combine the olive oil, granulated garlic, sea salt, and pepper. Remove all the leaves from the cauliflower, cut into small even sided florets and toss them with the mixed oil and spices until well coated. Lay on prepared baking sheet and roast in center of oven.
- Total roasting time will depend on the size of florets but they should be roasted until fork tender. I roasted mine for about 8 on one side then flipped for a further 8 minutes. Splash with freshly squeezed lemon juice before serving if desired.
Roasting cauliflower gives it a unique flavour, and if you allow some pieces to caramelize this adds a slight smokiness. The addition of garlic and the splash of lemon juice help bring out extras taste that all really compliments each other so well. My husband and I very much enjoyed eating cauliflower this way, I loved the deep purple color it became after roasting, and will definitely roast both purple and white cauliflower again.
If there is some barbecuing in your weekend plans I think throwing cauliflower on the grill would be great. Have a great weekend everyone!
That cauliflower is magnificent and your pictures are stunning! Your dish must taste really wonderful. I’m a sucker for anything garlicky.
Cheers,
Rosa
Thanks so much, Rosa! I think you would really enjoy the cauliflower like this.
Stunning is the only word that comes to mind when I see this beautiful cauliflower! I need to keep my eye out for a purplicous delight.
Thanks so much amiga!
I have never seen a purple cauliflower before….Stunning colour!
It was my first time seeing it in real life and yes the color is something else. Hope you can find it sometime. Thanks Angie.
I love roasted cauliflower, though I’ve never tried it with the purple variety. Stunning photos!
Hi Laura, This is my first time trying the purple variety and the roasting method — loved them both. Thanks!
What a gorgeous purple hue!
Nature is beautiful, isn’t it?:)
I receive a lot of produce from a local California company, Frieda’s Produce, and they are known for their purple vegetables: cauliflower, asparagus, artichokes, bell peppers… They really are gorgeous, aren’t they? Love the green and purple together!
Lucky you, Laura! Yes, it is so beautiful and I hope to find them again. Thanks!
Gorgeous photos of a gorgeous head of cauliflower! I am glad you shared a good amount of photos and it inspires me to look for the seeds for this plant a little harder.
Oh and don’t feel that you’d insult someone with a recipe for roasting cauliflower! Even the most seasoned home cook may have never done it before and would need a little guidance on the subject :)
Rochelle, I love your little rooster pic.:) I hope you do find the seeds, if I see them here I’d be happy to ship them to you — will let you know if I do. Thanks so much!xx
Thank you Nancy! The rooster is a Galo de Barcelos, a symbol of Portugal (they have these little guys everywhere).
If I see the seeds I’ll be sure to stop by and let you know where your readers can find them :D
Great, thanks and good luck I hope you find them.:)
Such a gorgeous cauliflower! And you serve it beautifully. Lovely post… :)
Thank you Anne!:)
What a fabulous colour. I have only seen purple cabbage and cauliflower with a little purple on the top but this is spectacular. And lovely photos as always.
It might be great to pair the two … or how about dying white cauliflower with purple cabbage? There’s an idea for a future post.:) Thanks so much Suzanne.
Lovely purple cauliflower! Always think about planting this variety but the regular kind always wins. By by looking at your pictures, I sure would like some for the fall… really beautiful!
I think the purple variety would be wonderful for the fall. Thanks so much Pamela!:)
G’day! I LOVE roasted cauliflower too!
I love the multi-colored cauliflower (especially the purple) and your recipes and photo…used the green and orange one in Roza’s Roasted Red Hot Lover Chilli on my blog should you wish to view!
I became intrigued not only about the color, but which color was highest in nutritional value and the purple one “may” prevent heart disease…
Cheers! Joanne
I saw there were a few other colors too, can’t wait to find them. Absolutely, I’ll stop by for the recipe Joanne.:)
Beautiful color! Cauliflower is so delicious when roasted, even my boys love it :)
That’s great that your boys also like it.:)
this is so quick to make and is definitely a winner when you want home cooked food with 30 minutes, serve with some pasta salad or soup and you get to have a wholesome, garlic enriched supper,yum :-)
Absolutely Kumar, any of the foods you mentioned would be great. Thank you!
Hi Nancy, your photos are absolutely amazing! I think you could make a photo of a kitchen sink look like art! :-) Your photography really inspires me to up my game. We eat roasted cauliflower regularly and I’m going to be on the lookout for the purple variety at our local farmer’s market. Beautiful post!
Haha, thank you so much Bill!:) I hope you find it soon.
Even if the recipe hadn’t sounded so delicious, this was worth just a look at your fabulous photos. I’ve never seen a purple cauliflower before–intriguing!
You are also so sweet, thank you so much Victoria.:)
I have never tried purple cauliflower, would like to though. I am a cauliflower fan be it in curries or just grilled.
Your pictures are just stunning. The dish looks perfect. I can’t wait to get my hands on a purple cabbage or purple food coloring;)…
We love it in curries too. Thank you so much Ash and I hope you find it soon.:)
Nancy this is so beautiful. I wish you lived close by so I could take some photography lessons from you. I work best hands on. I guess you’d say I’m a visual learner, maybe that’s why I enjoy teaching so much.
We could team up Vicki for photo and cooking lessons.:)
Absolutely gorgeous…and I’m sure it tasted even better than it looks! Did you get it in a local market or just a grocery store? I’ve never seen purple, just bright green.
Hi Angela,
I purchased it at my local green grocers, I’ve never seen it at a regular grocery store. Now I would love to find the green or orange one.:)
Wow, it’s so vibrant. And I love that it keeps its purple color after it’s cooked. Beautiful!
I was wondering about that before I cooked it, but the color really intensified. Thanks Lizzy!
One colour. two colour. mixed colour: fun!!!! Well, I have never seen cauli of such depth of hue either, but methinks it is time to go to Oz’ best known organic seeds supplier and see what he can say on the subjcet :) !
I saw on the internet that some of the purple ones are very lightly colored, and others that were even darker or more purplish. So I was very lucky to find such a vibrant one. Have fun and I hope you get them soon.
I am partial to all the photos..After having no power all afternoon yesterday I am catching up on pretty pics:)
I just pickled some cauliflower..i wonder if the vinegar would bleach this glorious color?
I love how produce is just so gorgeous on it’s own.
Good question, I wonder that too. Mother nature gives us so many beautiful produce to enjoy.
Love this Nancy…..first the purple that you have photographed so amazingly then the cauliflower which I love
Thank you so much Tania!:)
OMG! What a photography! It looks like a piece of art!
Thank you so much Marta!
That looks ridiculously pretty. I’ve only ever seen pictures of it too, and I did question whether they’d been photoshopped! Beautiful pics as always x
Janie x
Haha, that’s a fair reaction to have. When I saw it at the market I wonder if it had been dipped into dye. Thanks Janie!:)
That purple cauliflower is gorgeous! Love your pictures!
Thank you Christin!
I think your recipe is much appropriate and appreciated Nancy. No I have never seen a purple cauliflower before, they are soo gorgeous. Purple is my husband’s favorite color and he loves cauliflower. I wish I could get those here. Really surprised I have never seen such a perfect looking veggie. Gotta show your pretty pictures to my mum and she might have an idea where to get seeds for those. =)
Thank you so much Helene, I thought it would be nice to keep it simple and enjoy the cauliflower taste. I hope your mum finds some seeds for you, I would love to grow it too. Unfortunately the sign did not state were it was grown.
This is almost too pretty to eat and has to be one of the most photogenic veggies on the planet.
Yes, it really must be. Thank you Sandra!
You are a not just a photographer, and not just a chef/cook, you are an artist. And a multifaceted one, at that. Not only do you create delicious dishes, but your photography is an art in itself. You even made Salisbury steak look delicious. Stunning. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you so much JC! You’ve made my day with your compliment.:)
There should be a prize or a medal for the best photo of a purple cauliflower because you’d win hands down. Beautiful!
Blushing;) Thanks so much Maureen!
looks inviting and mouthwatering stuff!
Thanks Kalyan!
Gorgeous pictures. I love the color purple, and I love cauliflower. I’ve eaten it before, but almost never see it in the stores – too bad, because I’d love to cook it. This looks terrific – thanks so much.
Thanks so much John. So many have commented about never having seen it before, I thought I was the only one. I hope you can find it soon.:)
I’m just in awe of your beautiful photographs of that purple cauliflower as well as this delicious looking salad.
Thank you so much, MJ!:)
Wow! I managed a fresh produce market for a decade, but I don’t recall seeing purple caulis! We grow our own regular cauliflowers and I loved them. Beautiful recipe, lovely photos.
I didn’t realize they were so rare, makes me very lucky to have found them. Thanks!
This looks so incredibly gorgeous, Nancy! Loved that shot of leaf :) Never had purple cauliflower though. I don’t think we will get them here :(
Never say never, Priya, you never know.:) Thanks so much!
Cant wait to try this recipe tonight. My husband keeps questioning if I bought a landscaping plant, lol. I assured him I got it from the Cauliflower section at the store. Hope I am right ;P
Beautiful pictures and the recipe came out great.
Your photos are truly stunning!! Thanks for the recipe. Excited to have found your site!
Thank you Dominique!:)