Dinner Plate #61

 

I sometimes impulse buy produce, and when I bought a cauliflower, I knew I wanted it to take center stage. I was just in that sort of a mood! So here we have the meal spontaneity created: curry hummus with pickled onion and cilantro garnishes (hummus recipe from Ambitious Kitchen), mushroom and spinach quinoa (recipe from Project Sunny), and cashew-crusted cauliflower steak with lemon-date relish (recipe from Minimalist Baker). 

Cauliflower steak doesn't always have much staying power, but encrusting it with cashews certainly helps! This recipe was slightly fussier than most cauliflower steaks I've made, requiring a quick steam before dredging it with (in my case soy) milk and lemon juice and then the seasoned cashew mixture. Fortunately, it didn't require anything after that other than to be popped in the oven, and it was delicious. The lemon-date relish was an intriguing touch, as I rarely use dates other than in breakfasts.

The quinoa was fine; it used up spinach and mushrooms that needed to be eaten before they went bad and served as a foil for the rest. I tend to have quinoa with cauliflower steaks to ensure I boost the protein in a meal.

The hummus was great with this--the flavors all went so well together! The hummus is slightly sweet from some maple syrup in the mix, which contrasted with the spicy cauliflower in the same way as the date relish did.

Some meals scream "vegan" at you and that's okay!