Curry cauliflower frittata

October 28-29, 2011

To avoid the frustrating spring carnival hoopla that overtakes Melbourne this time every year, we got together with a bunch of regular vegan potluckers and booked in a weekend out of town. In Warburton to be precise. Soak up some of the serenity:

We had a houseful of excellent cooks, all taking turns to try to feed eight people and nearly as many dietary restrictions (the key three: vegan, gluten-free and garlic-free). Cindy and I drew the breakfast roster, opting for a massive pile of gf-pancakes and tempeh bacon on the Sunday morning and pre-preparing this giant cauliflower frittata for Saturday. The recipe (based on one from Vegan Brunch) fit the bill perfectly - it was substantial enough to feed a big group, could be taken up basically completed and, most importantly, it was a taste sensation.

Cauliflower and tofu make up the bulk of the frittata, with carrot and spinach adding a bit of colour to the mix. The key to the whole thing is having a decent curry powder - we realised as we were making this that we'd run out, so I ad-libbed something out of the spices we had around. It worked okay - I'd be keen to try this again with a proper spice mix though. As delicious as it was, a whole plate would probably get a bit samey without a few accompaniments - Cindy's pickled radishes provided the perfect acidity kick, while stir-fried greens offered something a bit colourful on the plate.

This was a great start to our Saturday, filling us with the energy we'd need to sit around eating chips, playing cards and drinking wine.

Curry cauliflower frittata
(adapted from a recipe in Vegan Brunch)

home-made curry powder
1 tablespoon cumin powder
1 tablespoon coriander powder
1 tablespoon cardamom powder
1/2 tablespoon mustard powder
1/2 tablespoon turmeric powder
1/2 tablespoon chilli powder
1/2 tabelspoon garam masala

the rest
3 tablespoons sunflower oil
1 onion, finely chopped
6 cups finely chopped cauliflower (as small as you can!)
3 cups finely chopped spinach
900g firm tofu, pressed and crumbled
3 tablespoons gf soy sauce
Juice of a lemon
3/4 cup nutritional yeast
2 smallish carrots, grated
salt to taste
3 egg replacers (we used the Orgran stuff)

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.

In a large frying pan (or two medium ones in our case), fry the onion and the cauliflower in the oil for about 10 minutes, until it's softened and started to brown up. Add the spinach and fry for another couple of minutes, until it wilts and can be easily stirred through.

While the cauliflower is cooking combine the tofu with the soy sauce, lemon juice, nooch, grated carrot, curry powder, salt and egg replacers in a large mixing bowl.

When the frying is all done, stir the cauliflower/onion/spinach mix into the tofu mix and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

Press the mix firmly into a large, lightly greased cooking tray and cook until it's warm through and lightly browned on top (about 40 minutes). The recipe suggests flipping the tray over to serve, but we weren't brave enough and just cut slices out.