Cauliflower can get quite expensive here in Taipei, that's the main reason why I haven't been cooking cauliflower for a while. However, it's been too long, size doesn't matter, I want some cauliflower now, even one bite can calm my cravings.
Roasted cauliflower -
Ingredients (for a small cauliflower)?
- 350 grams cauliflower
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 to 2 tablespoons finely chopped Italian flat leaf parsley
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon coarsely grind black pepper
How?
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit/204.4 degrees Celsius.
Rinse and pat dry the cauliflower. Break the cauliflower into smaller florets and transfer to a mixing blow. Finely chop the parsley and set aside for later use.
Mix the cauliflower florets with some olive oil, about 2 tablespoons. Season with some sea salt and coarsely grind black pepper. Toss till all the florets are evenly coated with the seasonings. Transfer to a baking dish.
Into the oven and bake for about 15 minutes. Remove and give the cauliflower a few tosses. Transfer back to the oven and continue to bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, or till tender and slightly darken on the edges.
Remove from heat. Sprinkle some chopped parsley right before serving.
As simple as it gets, but the end result was pretty satisfying. Especially loving that darkened edges on the florets. To bring it up a notch? Try grating some aged Parmigiano Reggiano on top for a umami boost.
Such a small cauliflower with only one thin layer of roasted result here. Guess how much the cauliflower was? Nearly $5 USD, so pricey. Guess I won't be cooking cauliflower for a while, until next time.
Haven't been baking dessert for a while, and finally my sweet cravings kicked in. Let's try something different here, not using butter, but light-tasting vegetable oil to make the cake.
Old school Taiwanese castella cake 台灣古早味蛋糕 -
Ingredients (for an 8-inch round baking dish)?
- 70 grams light-tasting vegetable oil
- 90 grams cake flour
- 60 grams whole milk
- 70 grams granulated sugar
- 6 egg yolk
- 6 egg white
- Some water
How?
I used one 8-inch round baking dish for this recipe. A little bit smaller baking pan should be fine, which will give you a higher cake instead. Just remember to check on the cake often during the baking process. Also prepare a slightly larger baking dish for water bath.
Line the round baking dish with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit/150 degrees Celsius.
Measure all the ingredients first. Separate the egg yolks and egg whites.
Take a big pot and heat up the vegetable oil using low heat. Once the surface starts to show wavy patterns, remove from heat.
Sift in cake flour and whisk till combined. Then pour in milk and whisk again. Add in egg yolks in few batches while whisking at the same time. In the end, whisk till the mixture appear to be creamy and pale yellow color.
Beat the egg whites till soft peak forms. Pour in sugar in two batches. Beat till soft peak again, it might take few minutes here.
Fold the egg whites mixture to the creamy egg yolk mixture in about 3 batches. Do not over mixing these ingredients. Simply scoop from the bottom and fold to the center a few times using a spatula till about fully blended.
Pour the entire mixture to the baking dish. Pick up the dish and let it fall back to the table a few times. This will help driving out some air trapped within.
Arrange another larger baking dish below the round dish. Pour in some water till about half way high, or a little bit higher, like over the middle section of the round dish.
Transfer to the oven and bake for about 45 minutes, plus or minus 2 minutes.
Carefully remove these baking dishes from the oven, then take out the round baking dish. Pick it up and let it fall back to the table again, it'll make a big noise, no worries.
Remove the cake from baking dish and let it cool off on rack.
Slice and serve.
It's a very simple and old school style Taiwanese castella cake. The vegetable oil used can heavily determine the flavor of the cake, so choose wisely.
But just like most of the castella cake, it sure taste even better with milk. Hot tea works too, but milk always make such cake even more comforting.
Other Taiwanese dessert:
