Charred Cauliflower Tacos with Lime Crema

Name: Charred Cauliflower Tacos with Lime Crema
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Vegetarian
Ingredients: 1 large cauliflower, broken into small florets; 4 tbsp olive oil; 2 tsp ground cumin; 2 tsp smoked paprika; 1 1/2 tsp chipotle flakes or powder; 1 tsp dried oregano; 1 tsp salt; 200 g soured cream or thick yoghurt; 1 lime, zest and juice; 1 garlic clove, crushed to a paste with salt; 1 small handful coriander, finely chopped; 12 small corn tortillas; 1 red onion, sliced paper thin; 3 tbsp red wine vinegar; 1 avocado, sliced; coriander leaves and lime wedges

The oven has to be as hot as it goes and the cauliflower has to be genuinely black in places. Anything less and you have roast cauliflower in a tortilla, which is not the same thing.

Prep 15 min
Cook 25 min
Total 40 min
Serves 4
Vegetarian

Four soft corn tortillas filled with blackened cauliflower florets, pale green lime crema, pink pickled onion and coriander.

Method

Step 1. Heat the oven to 240°C fan, or as hot as it will go, with a large heavy tray inside it. A cold tray is the difference between charred and merely roasted.
Step 2. Toss the onion slices with the vinegar and a good pinch of salt in a small bowl. Leave them; they will turn bright pink and lose their rawness in about 20 minutes.
Step 3. Toss the cauliflower with the oil, spices, oregano and salt until every floret is coated orange.
Step 4. Tip onto the hot tray — it should hiss — and spread into a single layer. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, turning once at 15 minutes, until the edges are properly blackened, not golden.
Step 5. Stir the crema ingredients together and season with salt. Taste it: it should be sharper than feels comfortable, because the cauliflower is rich.
Step 6. Warm the tortillas directly over a gas flame for a few seconds a side, or in a dry pan. Keep them stacked under a tea towel.
Step 7. Build: cauliflower, crema, pickled onion, avocado, coriander. Lime wedge on the side and more chipotle for anyone who wants it.

Notes from the kitchen

Small florets char far better than big ones. Cut anything larger than a walnut in half again.
Vegan in one swap: use a thick coconut or cashew yoghurt for the crema. Everything else already is.
Leftover cauliflower is excellent cold, tossed through rice with the pickled onion and any remaining crema.

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Method

Notes from the kitchen

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