Why this traybake works on a weeknight

Midweek cooking has one non-negotiable rule: you shouldn't have to stand over a pan. This recipe asks nothing more than a knife, a roasting tin and half an hour in which you can get on with something else entirely. Cauliflower, cut into wedges and roasted hot and fast, turns sweet and nutty at the edges. A couple of tins of chickpeas thrown into the same tin crisp up in the seasoned oil and taste far better than they have any right to.

British cauliflower is at its best from late summer right through to early spring, and the tight, heavy heads you find at a farmers' market in October are a different vegetable altogether from the pale, floppy specimens that turn up in the depths of winter. Look for a head that feels heavy for its size, with crisp green leaves still attached. Those leaves are very good roasted, so don't bin them.

What you'll need

• 1 large cauliflower (about 1kg), broken into florets, leaves reserved
• 2 x 400g tins chickpeas, drained and dried well on a tea towel
• 3 tbsp olive oil, plus a little extra for the leaves
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• ½ tsp chilli flakes, or to taste
• 4 fat garlic cloves, unpeeled and lightly bashed
• 1 lemon
• A small bunch of flat-leaf parsley
• 150g full-fat yoghurt
• Salt and black pepper

The method, step by step

Heat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan, gas mark 7) and put your largest roasting tin in to heat while you prep. A hot tin is the difference between chickpeas that crisp and chickpeas that steam.

• Dry the chickpeas properly. Tip them onto a clean tea towel, fold it over and rub gently. Any loose skins can go in the bin. Wet chickpeas will never crisp, so this two-minute job is worth doing.
• Toss everything in a bowl first. Combine the cauliflower florets, chickpeas, oil, cumin, ground coriander, paprika, chilli flakes, a generous pinch of salt and plenty of black pepper. Use your hands — it's quicker and you'll coat everything evenly.
• Tip into the hot tin in a single layer. If it looks crowded, use two tins. Crowding is the enemy here. Tuck the bashed garlic cloves in among the vegetables.
• Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, turning everything once at the halfway mark with a fish slice. You're looking for deep golden edges on the cauliflower and chickpeas that rattle when you shake the tin.
• Add the leaves for the last 8 minutes. Toss them with a teaspoon of oil and a pinch of salt and lay them on top. They'll go crisp and slightly charred, like a brassica crisp.

Lemon, herbs and a spoonful of yoghurt

While the tin is in the oven, stir the zest of the lemon into the yoghurt with a good pinch of salt and a squeeze of the juice. Loosen it with a splash of water if it's stiff — you want something you can dollop and swoosh rather than spoon with effort. Leave the rest of the lemon to cut into wedges.

When the tray comes out, squeeze over the juice of half the lemon while everything is still hissing hot. The acidity lifts the whole dish and stops the spices from tasting flat. Scatter over the parsley, roughly chopped, stalks and all, then serve straight from the tin with the yoghurt spooned alongside. Flatbreads, a bowl of couscous or simply a heap of rice all work well here. The garlic cloves will have gone soft and sweet; squeeze the flesh out of the skins and mash it into the yoghurt.

Swap it around as the seasons turn

The method is a template, not a rule. In spring, use purple sprouting broccoli instead of cauliflower — it needs only 15 minutes, so add it later. Through autumn, wedges of romanesco or a mix of cauliflower and halved sprouts work beautifully. In winter, cubes of celeriac and parsnip roasted alongside the chickpeas make something altogether more robust, and a spoonful of harissa in with the oil gives it a welcome warmth.

Keep the chickpeas, the hot tin and the lemony finish constant. Everything else is yours to play with, which is really the point of a good weeknight recipe.

If you grow your own

Cauliflower has a reputation for being fussy, and it's partly deserved. It wants firm ground, consistent moisture and a steady supply of nutrients, and it sulks if it dries out. Sow seed in a seed tray in early spring, pot on once the seedlings are sturdy, and plant out after hardening off, spacing them 60cm apart. Firm the soil around each stem with your boot. Net against pigeons from day one — they will strip a young brassica in an afternoon.

Cut the head while it's still tight; once the florets begin to open it turns coarse quickly. If you're short on space or patience, grow calabrese instead, which is more forgiving and crops over a longer window. And whatever you grow, use the leaves. They are the part most gardeners compost and the part that roasts best.