Recipe Review: Pear And Cauliflower Curry

Yesterday I made a dish from a new cookbook called “The Complete Guide to Vegan Food Substitutions”

The book, designed to inform new vegans and vegetarians on animal product substitutions, was very well written and easy to follow. Each chapter was split up according to the type of substitution in the recipe, whether it’s milk, eggs, meat, or more. This recipe was under the “Dairy Substitutes” chapter.

The ingredients were simple enough to find in the grocery store, and the method was far from complex. My mother and I were actually a little put off by the simplistic method: throw it all in a pan and stick ‘er in the oven. But, we tried it anyways, and boy am I glad we did!

We lined our baking dish with tinfoil, and I added the ingredients from the top to the bottom of the page. The melted coconut oil began to harden though, so when it came time to mix all the ingredients, it stuck to the tinfoil and I ripped it. So, my suggestion when cooking this is to use a non-stick pan, and add the melted coconut oil just before mixing.

The finished product was delicious. I’m not one for spices, so  I was a little skeptic to try something like this, but it was perfect. There was a bit of bite so as to keep the dish interesting, but it wasn’t so spicy that its consumers had smoke fuming out their ears. All in all, I’d definitely make this recipe again.

 

The Recipe

3 tablespoons melted coconut oil

1 tablespoon garam masala

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon brown mustard seeds

1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon coarse sea salt

1 small head cauliflower, broken into small florets

2 firm pears, quartered and cored

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/3 cup chopped yellow onion

1/4 cup coconut milk

1/3 cup dry roasted salted cashews

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro or parsely

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Combine all ingredients in a 9×13 inch baking dish and roast for 30 minutes, stirring half way through. Turn oven off and leave dish in the oven for another 15 minutes, or until cauliflower is cooked. Sprinkle with cashews and parsley or cilantro, and serve over rice, bulgur, quinoa, or couscous!

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