Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Hazelnut Pesto

Vegan Christmas dinner made easy with this delicious Whole Roasted Cauliflower stuffed with a Hazelnut Pesto.

If you are hosting Christmas this year and have vegetarian or vegan guests then don’t panic… I have the perfect veggie main to serve up that’s both impressive to look at but super delicious too!

Cooking for veggie or vegan friends and family can be a little intimidating when you’re used to meat being the centre of a meal. This recipe has a few steps to it but overall is not very complicated and the end result is more certainly worth the small amount of effort put in!

First up we need a whole cauliflower. A medium cauliflower is just fine.

Remove the green leaves and cut off some of the white stalk. It’s really important not to cut down too deep or the florets will all start to fall apart. We need to keep the cauliflower in one piece.

Pop that upside down into a saucepan, cover with boiling water and cook on the hob for about 7 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the hazelnut pesto by blitzing blanched hazelnuts, parsley, olive oil and lemon juice in a food processor or mini chopped.

Once the cauliflower has cooked for 7 minutes, transfer it to a snug oven dish still upside down and add half the pesto.

Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.

Remove from the oven, turn the right side up and add smoked paprika, garlic granules and olive oil to the top, brushing on with a pasty brush.

This gives that gorgeous golden red colour to our recipe.

Bake again for another 15 minutes.

Once ready, transfer to a serving dish and top with chopped dried cranberries and parsley.

Serve with the remaining pesto on the side.

For more instructions check out my video showing exactly how I made this recipes and all ingredient measurements are in the recipe card below.

If you try any of my #FussFreeXmas recipes please do leave a comment below and share your pictures with me on Instagram.  I always love to see your creations!

Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Hazelnut Pesto

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• Author: Ciara Attwell
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 40 mins
• Total Time: 50 minutes
• Yield: 6 1x
• Category: Vegan
• Cuisine: Christmas

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Description

Vegan Christmas dinner made easy with this delicious Whole Roasted Cauliflower stuffed with a Hazelnut Pesto.

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Ingredients

• 1 medium cauliflower
• 100g blanched hazelnuts
• Large handful of parsley
• 100ml light olive oil
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp garlic granules
• 1 tbsp light olive oil

To garnish

• 20g dried cranberries
• small handful of parsley

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Instructions

1. Remove the green leaves from the cauliflower and cut into the stalk at the bottom just slightly. Don’t cut down too far or the cauliflower will fall apart.
2. Add the cauliflower to a saucepan upside down and cover with boiling water. Cook on the hob on a high simmer for 7 minutes.
3. Meanwhile make the hazelnut pesto. Blitz the hazelnuts and parsley in a food processor or mini chopper. Add the olive oil and lemon and blitz again.
4. Drain the water out and run under cold water to cool down.
5. Transfer the cauliflower to a snug oven dish upside down. At this point you can cut a little more into the stalk but again be careful not to cut so far that the florets fall apart.
6. Spread half the pesto on the underside of the cauliflower, pushing it into all the nooks and crannies.
7. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
8. After 15 minutes remove the dish from the oven. Flip the cauliflower over so it is the right way round. Sprinkle on the paprika and garlic powder and drizzle on the olive oil. Use a pastry brush to spread the mixture all over the cauliflower so that it turns a lovely red colour.
9. Return to the oven for another 15 minutes.
10. When ready, remove from the oven and transfer to a serving plate. Top with chopped dried cranberries and parsley.
11. Serve with the leftover pesto.

If you liked this recipe you may also enjoy:

Slow Cooker Red Cabbage