Vegetarian mains
Sweet and sour stir-fry and cauli rice
Cauliflower 'rice' can be made by blitzing it in a food processor, but we think the texture from hand grating is just as good, if not better. Use the coarse side of your grater. Flavoured with aromatic curry powder to accompany the sweet and sour stir-fry with kecap manis (a slightly darker and sweet-sour soy sauce). Leftover lentils can be used for a lunchbox salad.
Ingredients
- ½ cauliflower
- oil for frying and roasting
- 1 tbsp curry powder
- salt and pepper
- 1 Romano pepper
- 150g spring greens
- 1 carrot
- 1 small piece ginger
- 1 garlic clove
- ½ tin pineapple chunks plus some juice
- ½ tin dark green lentils
- 1 tsp cornflour
- kecap manis (a sweet type of soy sauce) - add to taste
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp dried coriander leaves
- 25g cashew nuts
- 1 lemon
Method
-
Step 1
Preheat your oven to 200°C/Gas 6. Strip the leaves off the cauliflower. Coarsely grate ½ the cauliflower, including the stalk. Spread it out in a large roasting tin. Toss in 1 tbsp of oil and the curry powder. Season. Keep aside.
-
Step 2
Deseed and thinly slice the pepper. Strip the spring green leaves off their stalks. Layer up the leaves, roll them up, then thinly shred.
-
Step 3
Peel and finely slice the carrot. Peel and finely grate the ginger and garlic. Tip the pineapple fruit and juice into a bowl. Drain, then rinse, the lentils in a sieve. Keep the spare ½ tin lentils for another meal.
-
Step 4
In a small bowl, mix the cornflour, kecap manis, 3 tbsp of pineapple juice and the vinegar.
-
Step 5
Put the cauliflower in the oven. Roast for 8 mins, until warmed through and starting to colour.
-
Step 6
Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a wok or large frying pan. Stir-fry the pepper, spring greens and carrot for 3 mins. Stir in the garlic, ginger and lentils.
-
Step 7
Add the pineapple chunks and ½ the remaining juice from the bowl, the kecap manis mixture, dried coriander leaves and cashews. Stir for 1-2 mins, until the mix thickens slightly. To your taste, add more kecap manis, a squeeze of lemon, and more pineapple juice. Season. You're looking for a balance of sweet, sharp and salty.
-
Step 8
Remove the cauliflower from the oven. Serve it with the stir-fry.