Roasted Cauliflower & Ambrosia Apples [Recipe]

A Delicious Side Dish for Fall

Ambrosia Apples

Comfort food is as autumnal as falling leaves and sweaters coming out of storage. For us, there’s no better ingredient to add to comfort food than Ambrosia apples.

Roasted cauliflower is an easy side-dish for any meal. It’s especially good for those bigger family gatherings because it’s subtle flavour goes with just about every type of protein. In fact, some find cauliflower a little bland.

We’ve got the solution for that! Adding Ambrosia apples is a great way to increase the nutritional value of your side dish and take it from so-so to scrumptious. And, to make it a guaranteed crowd pleaser, we smother it in vegan cheese sauce.

A regular cheddar cheese sauce would also work, but we love this vegan sauce because it’s full of flavour and everyone at the table can enjoy it. Plus, we’ve snuck in some nutritious carrots that picky-eaters won’t even know they’re eating.

Ingredients:

1 head cauliflower
2 medium Ambrosia Apples
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Vegan Cheese Sauce:

  • ½ cup nutritional yeast
  • ½ cup raw cashews
  • ½ cup water
  • ⅓ cup olive oil
  • 1 large carrot
  • 1 Tbsp dijon mustard
  • 1 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • Dash of cayenne
  • Salt and pepper to taste

 

Method:

  • Soak raw cashews in water for 30 minutes
  • Preheat oven to 350°
  • Peel, dice and steam carrots until soft. Set aside to cool
  • Cut cauliflower into ½ inch florets
  • Core and peel Ambrosia apples. Cut into ½ cubes
  • Toss Ambrosia apples and cauliflower in olive oil until coated. Season with salt and pepper and place in a roasting pan
  • Cover and place in oven for 25 minutes or until tender. You may want to stir them halfway through
  • Drain cashews and place in blender
  • Add all remaining vegan cheese sauce ingredients
  • Puree cheese sauce until velvety smooth
  • Warm on stovetop or in a microwave before serving
  • When apples and cauliflower are tender, remove the lid of the roasting pan and broil for 1 minute
  • Serve and enjoy

 

As an option, you can pour the cheese sauce over top of the roasted cauliflower and Ambrosia apples just before broiling. Or, you can serve the sauce in a gravy boat alongside the dish and allow everyone to pour on as much as they want.

This is sure to be a new favourite. Don’t be surprised if it makes it to the list of must-have dishes for family holiday dinners.

 

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Ambrosia Apples