Roasted sumac cauliflower pilaf with broccolini

(serves 4)

This was inspired by a delicious middle-eastern roasted cauliflower salad i had at Madame Char Char in Surry Hills a few weekends ago... this wasn't quite the same but i suppose it tends to be the trend that one dish inspires another! I was also keen to make this dish with a mix of pistachios and almonds because we had our first trip to Costco on the weekend and lo, and behold, we now have 1.2kg of each! 

There's something slightly disturbing about the sheer quantity of processed and packaged food in one place, disturbing yet fascinating for a foodie like me :) Without really buying anything, we somehow still managed to spend way too much... *sigh* However, I do think buying nuts in mass is justifiable ~ and now i can use it for my healthy salads ~ to balance out the huge packet of Hershey's Cookies'n'Creme :$ 

Everything in moderation...

Prep time: 15 min

Cooking time: 45 min

Ingredients

1 brown onion

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp coriander powder

1 cinnamon stick

2 bay leaves

1 C basmatic rice

2 C chicken stock

½ cauliflower

2 tsp sumac

2 bunches broccolini

1 small eggplant

Handful of roasted silvered almonds and pistachios, to serve

Dressing

Sumac

Lemon olive oil

White wine vinegar

Salt and pepper

Method

1.     Preheat the oven to 180˚C.

2.     Cut the cauliflower into small florets and toss in olive oil, salt, pepper and sumac and roast for 30-40min, turning at 20min.

3.     Heat the chicken stock in a separate pot and parboil the broccollini in it for 2-3 minutes until soft.

4.     Heat a large pan with ½ T olive oil and sauté the onion for 1 minute, then add in the cumin powder, coriander, cinnamon stick and bay leaves to release the aroma.

5.     Add in the rice and chicken stock and cook covered for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Toasted almonds (left), sumac roasted cauliflower (top right), pilaf (bottom right)

6.      Meanwhile, finely dice the eggplant into 0.5cm pieces.

7.     Once the rice is cooked, remove from the pan and set aside. Reheat the pan with ½ T olive oil and add the eggplant in. Season with salt and pepper and sauté for 5-8 minutes, turning occasionally. You may need to add more olive oil as needed.

8.     Toss the eggplant in with the rice.

9.     Put the dressing ingredients into a small jar, shake it up and toss the broccolini and cauliflower through with the dressing.

10. Serve the rice mixture on top of the broccolini and cauliflower, and top with a sprinkle of pistachios and silvered almonds.