As much as we love to see what our favorite foodies make when they want to “wow” their guests, you know what’s even more interesting? Learning what dishes they whip up when they’re at home on an average weeknight. Our series, My Go-To Meal, asks chefs and foodies we love to spill the recipes they have on constant rotation. Next up, Hetty McKinnon shares an incredible recipe for a whole roasted gochujang cauliflower.
There’s a gallery wall in my kitchen that’s rotationally filled with new and old cookbooks I’m working through. Most of the books last a few weeks before I swap them out for a new addition to my collection. But Hetty McKinnon’s To Asia, With Love has remained a steadfast fixture on my wall for months.
If you follow Hetty on Instagram, you’re familiar with her beautiful recipes and dreamy descriptions. Her food is a gorgeous representation of the joyful connection that comes as a result of cooking and sharing food with the people in our lives. And lucky for myself as a vegetarian, Hetty’s plant-based recipes are “truly egalitarian, for every person who enjoys a flavour-packed, vegetable-heavy dish. No labels required.”
Diving deeper into the stories that accompany the recipes in her book was a welcome dose of beautiful storytelling. The narratives she weaves truly embody what it means to honor the food we grow up with and the joy of rediscovering the foods that fill our hearts. Without spoiling too much, Hetty’s essay on ’embracing a third culture’ brought me so much joy for the stories being shared now and all the voices that will continue to be shared in the future. So, I was excited to chat with Hetty about one of her standout recipes from her latest book and get the deets on what’s happening in her kitchen.
HETTY MCKINNON is a vegetarian cookbook author and food writer. In 2011, she established Arthur Street Kitchen, a local salad-
delivery business run out of her home in Sydney. In 2015, Hetty and her family relocated to Brooklyn, New York where she has published three bestselling cookbooks: Community, Neighborhood, and the award-winning Family. She is also the editor and publisher of the multicultural food magazine, Peddler, and hosts its podcast “The House Specials.” She is a regular recipe contributor to The New York Times, Bon Appetit, Epicurious, The Guardian and ABC Life.
First things first: What’s your go-to meal?
Whole roasted gochujang cauliflower with smashed roasted butter beans (recipe below.)
Yum! What flavors did you draw upon when creating it?
I love a whole roasted cauliflower. It’s a wonderful way to show the grandeur of an everyday vegetable. And I love the ceremony of bringing it to the table.
I’ve developed several whole roasted cauliflower recipes over the years, but for this recipe, I wanted to create something that was quite punchy, both in appearance and flavor. The gochujang lends fiery sweetness to the cauliflower, and it works beautifully mixed with yogurt. The dairy tames the spiciness while also adding a tangy creaminess. It’s a beautiful yet surprising dish. Plus, it shows off vegetables’ versatility.
What makes this recipe your go-to?
I love that this dish is very simple to prepare but aesthetically impressive. It’s very versatile, too. Easy enough to cook for a weeknight dinner but visually appealing enough to present at dinner parties.
For this recipe, you only need two sheet pans (one works too, if that’s what you have available) and a hot oven. This is what I call a hands-off recipe. Very little work is required on your part, and the oven does all the heavy lifting.
What ingredients make this recipe special?
The gochujang adds a hint of drama to this recipe! Color, intense fermented flavors, sweetness, while also adding that element of surprise. I don’t think many people think to add gochujang to cauliflower! Gochujang is both sweet and fiery, and while the yogurt will marginally tame this heat, I encourage you to add as little or as much as you like to the yogurt marinade, to suit your preferred spice levels.
This recipe is already gluten-free! Are there swaps that can make it dairy-free as well?
To make it vegan, you can definitely use dairy-free yogurt. I recommend coconut yogurt.
What is the secret to making this meal taste delicious every time?
Don’t be afraid to roast your cauliflower until very golden. A lighter cauliflower will have less flavor than a deeply-browned one. A caramelized exterior means your cauliflower has smoky flavor which provides a nice juxtaposition to the sweet, tender internal flesh.
What are your must-have kitchen tools in the kitchen?
A sheet pan! I love sheet pans—I have about four or five permanently stacked in my oven. I use them for everything. Apart from roasting, they’re great to use for mixing ingredients or for stacking dumplings or wontons (anything you’ll be making in bulk).
My other favorites? A great utility knife (mine is from Tokyo), a good pair of kitchen scissors (my fave is from Material Kitchen), a use-for-everything 10-inch skillet (I love my cast iron from Staub) and chopsticks for cooking, mixing, and whisking. Or really, everything.
What are some other recipes from To Asia, With Love that our readers must try?
I have so many favorites! The Sheet Pan Chow Mein, Life-Changing Udon, Banh Mi Salad, Salt and Pepper Eggplant, Vegan Tantanmen, Soy Sauce Noodles With Fried Eggs. The list goes on…
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Whole Roasted Gochujang Cauliflower with Smashed Roasted Butter Beans
Description
This weeknight dish is full of bold flavors and savory spices. Balanced with cannellini beans, this cauliflower will satisfy your taste buds and bring the heat!
Ingredients
For the cauliflower:
- 1–2 tablespoons gochujang (Korean fermented hot pepper paste)
- 1/2 cup (125 g) plain yogurt
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large cauliflower (about 2 1/4 pounds / 1 kg) – can also substitute with a whole cabbage
- 1 lemon, halved
- Handful of chopped parsley leaves
- Handful of cilantro leaves
- 2 tablespoons flaked or slivered almonds, toasted
- Sea salt and black pepper
For the beans:
- 1 pound (450 g) cooked butter beans (about two 14-ounce / 400-g cans, drained) – can substitute with chickpeas, cannellini beans, or lentils
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, finely grated
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- Sea salt and black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C).
- In a small bowl, whisk together the gochujang and yogurt and add a drizzle of oil.
- Remove the outer leaves from the cauliflower and trim the stem so it is flush with the bottom of the cauliflower. Place the cauliflower on a sheet pan, drizzle with oil, and season well with sea salt and black pepper.
- Place in the oven and roast for 45–50 minutes until the cauliflower is golden and just about cooked. Remove from the oven, drizzle with more oil, and squeeze over the juice of ½ lemon.
- Massage about 2 tablespoons of the gochujang yogurt all over the cauliflower. Return to the oven and roast for another 10–15 minutes until completely tender (the exact cooking time will depend on the size of the cauliflower, so check it often).
- Meanwhile, for the smashed roasted butter beans, place the butter beans in a bowl and roughly mash with the back of a fork or a potato masher. You only need to break up some of the beans, not all of them, so the consistency is chunky. Add a good drizzle of oil, along with the garlic and cumin, ground coriander and ginger, then season with sea salt and black pepper and stir to combine. Place the butter beans on a separate sheet pan and roast for 20–30 minutes until crispy and golden.
- To serve, spoon the smashed butter beans onto a large serving plate and place the roasted cauliflower on top. Dollop with the remaining gochujang yogurt, drizzle with some oil, and season with sea salt and black pepper. Finish with the parsley, cilantro leaves, and almonds, and serve with the remaining lemon on the side.
Thank you, Hetty, for sharing this recipe with us! For more exclusive recipes from Hetty’s kitchen, subscribe to Hetty’s free monthly newsletter, explore her magazine, Peddler Journal, and check out her accompanying podcast, The House Specials.
Recipe from To Asia, With Love by Hetty McKinnon (Prestel, 2021)
I’m not a huge fan of Gochujang but I really want to make this recipe. Do you have any other suggestions? Buffalo sauce or an Asian flare? Please and thanks!
Harissa!
Delicious!!
Love this!