Cauliflower parmo

Chicken parmo is a dish famed in the north-east of the UK (I guess it originated in Italy?) as the perfect end-of-the-night fuel. This version takes a little longer and is considerably better for you! It’s a one-pot dish as well – saves on washing up!

Ingredients:

1 large cauliflower
1 cup grated hard cheese (Tesco’s basic range is veggie-friendly, do check because most hard cheese contain rennet)
1 leek (you can also use a red onion)
3 cloves garlic
500g passata
A few sprigs thyme (dried is also fine)
Spice mix (I used Tesco’s spice mix for steak but it’s your choice!)
Olive oil

Preheat your oven to 200ºC. Find a large casserole dish or roasting tin, the heavier the better, and drizzle some olive oil in the bottom. Chop your cauliflower into florets (not too small, but not massive either, or they won’t cook through). Spread out in your tin.

Chop up the leek (or onion) and sprinkle this over the florets in the dish, then mince the garlic and add that too. Drizzle a little more olive oil over the whole lot, and add the thyme leaves and a couple of teaspoons of spice mix.

Combine everything in the dish with a big spoon, and pop in the oven for 40 minutes. Take out and pour over the passata, then sprinkle the cheese over everything and put back in the oven for 10-15 minutes, or until the largest florets are soft (poke them with a fork to see).