Orange Ginger Chicken Cauliflower

Several years ago my sister gave me a recipe for orange ginger chicken…you know, back when I ate chicken. I was flipping through my recipe box last week and came across it, I immediately wanted to try it with roasted cauliflower instead of chicken, and it was one of my better ideas. I have changed a lot of this recipe, in fact, everything but the orange zest and the onion. This is spicier than it is sweet (and you could make it a LOT spicier if you wanted to with Thai red chilies or extra cayenne or red pepper flakes). If you wanted to make this vegan use veggie stock instead of chicken broth. (Let’s not get into the discussion about how I will eat chicken broth but not actual chicken. It’s far too philosophical a feat for a Friday.)

Orange Ginger Cauliflower

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Cut 1 head cauliflower into bite sized pieces, drizzle with olive oil and a lot of salt (cauliflower needs a lot of salt to be delicious), and roast 20-25 minutes until cooked through and florets are starting to turn brownish. Stir halfway through so the florets cook evenly. Do this very first before you start chopping the onion or bell pepper.

While the cauliflower is roasting, add a little olive oil (2 tablespoons) to a large skillet and when it is hot but not smoking add the following:

1 white onion, minced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
½ red bell pepper, diced
1 heaping tablespoon minced ginger
Zest of 2 oranges
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon white pepper
½ teaspoon sweet paprika
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
(optional: dash of red pepper flakes)

Stir this mixture until the onions are soft. (Check on your roasting cauliflower at this point too.) Then add:

½ cup fresh squeezed orange juice
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
4 teaspoons cornstarch
Splash of lemon or lime juice
1 ½ tablespoons brown sugar

Stir everything together until it starts to thicken a little, by this point your cauliflower should be about done. Toss it into the skillet as well and stir until everything is coated evenly with sauce. Keep on medium-high heat, stirring slowly, until the sauce is at your desired level of thickness.

Enjoy!