Roasted Cauliflower Tray Bake with Spiced Butter Rice

Delicious and Easy One-Pot Vegetarian Roast

There’s something deeply satisfying about a tray of vegetables slowly roasting in the oven. In this recipe, cauliflower wedges, sweet peppers, tomatoes, onions and whole garlic cloves are coated in olive oil and Middle Eastern spices, then roasted until soft, caramelised and full of flavour.

As the vegetables cook, the za’atar, sumac, oregano and smoked paprika infuse the oil, creating a beautifully tangy and aromatic sauce at the bottom of the tray. Spoon this over buttery almond rice for a simple, generous and comforting vegetarian dinner.

Roasting Cauliflower

Cauliflower undergoes a complete transformation when roasted in the oven. Its edges caramelise, its flavour becomes deeper and nuttier, and its texture softens while retaining a slight crunch.

How you cut the cauliflower affects the final result. Large wedges take longer to roast and stay juicy in the centre, whereas smaller florets cook faster and develop more caramelised edges. For this recipe, cutting the cauliflower into wedges ensures the vegetable remains tender while the outer edges brown beautifully.

Spice-Infused Chilli Oil

Add a generous amount of olive oil to the roasting tray to allow the spices to infuse as the vegetables cook. The za’atar, sumac, oregano and smoked paprika blend with the vegetable juices to create a fragrant chilli oil at the bottom of the tray.

As the cauliflower, peppers and tomatoes roast, this oil transforms into a delicious sauce for basting the vegetables and spooning over the buttered rice at the end.

Explore More Recipes on Flaevor

• Curried Madras Cauliflower Soup
• Harissa Cauliflower Toast with Sumac Yoghurt
• Oven Roasted Green Beans, Tomatoes and Feta

Print Recipe

Roasted Cauliflower Tray Bake with Spiced Butter Rice

Roasted cauliflower tray bake with spiced butter rice and a chilli, herb and spice-infused oil for basting and drizzling.

Total Time1 hour hr

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 whole cauliflower
• 1 red pepper
• 1 yellow pepper
• 2 large tomatoes
• 8 large garlic bulbs, unpeeled
• 2 white onions
• 150ml olive oil
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 1 tbsp smoked paprika
• 2 tsp za’atar
• 2 tsp sumac
• 2 tsp cumin
• Salt
• 170g Rice
• 1 large knob butter
• 3/4 tsp za’atar
• 50g flaked almonds

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 180°C.
• Trim green ends off cauliflower head, leaving the stem intact. Chop head into 6 wedges.
• Slice peppers in half lengthways, remove stem, and clean inside of seeds and additional soft white skin areas. Cut peppers again in half lengthways so you end up with 4 slices per pepper.
• Peel onions and cut in half.
• Cut tomatoes in half.
• Combine olive oil, za’atar, oregano, sumac, smoked paprika and cumin.
• Spread cauliflower wedges, peppers, tomatoes, onion and garlic bulbs evenly over a large roasting tray. Pour over oil and using your hands gently rub into vegetables.
• Transfer to the oven and roast for 50 – 60 minutes or until vegetables are charred and juicy.
• Meanwhile, cook rice in salted water.
• Using a dry frying pan, lightly toasted almond flakes along with 3/4 tsp za’atar.
• Stir butter through hot rice, followed by toasted almonds. Cover and keep warm.
• Remove roasted cauliflower from the oven. Serve vegetables alongside butter almond rice. To finish, spoon spicey chilli oil from the bottom of the roasting tray over vegetables and rice.