I will admit, I am not that great at side dishes. I tend to be a salad person. Or maybe tossing some diced potatoes in tin foil on the grill. I love, love, love vegetables, at least most of them, so I am trying to branch out and make sure to cook up some side dishes in other ways. Summer is a little hot for turning on the oven, but for cooler weather, I love roasting our veggies.
Roasted cauliflower & Pea pods with garlic
Cauliflower and fresh pea pods (enough to cover a baking sheet in a single layer. About a pound of each.)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon crushed garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon Minced dried onion
Cut cauliflower into medium chunks about 1.5 inches in diameter. Trim ends off pea pods.
Mix in bowl with with other ingredients, then spread a single layer on a cookie or baking sheet.
Place in preheated over at 420ºF for 15 minutes uncovered.
Even if they seem not quite done at the 15 minute mark, you still want to take them out of the oven. The bit of internal heat in the cauliflower will finish the job. You do not want this overcooked, trust me. Overcooked, soggy vegetables were a mainstay in our house when i was a kid, and are likely the reason we didn’t like them!
Anyway, the roasted cauliflower and pea pods (is pea pods one word or two?) goes great with chicken and wild rice. You could toss some whole button mushrooms into the cauliflower mix before roasting. That would probably be pretty awesome. I only do that when I want to torture my husband though.