For a long time now I’ve been seeing television chefs roasting cauliflower. Now this seems pretty foreign to me because I always grew up eating cauliflower 1 of 3 ways: raw, boiled, or steamed. Now there is nothing wrong with these if done right, but having tasted them in these fashions I’ve learned that cauliflower is a rather dense vegetable. Granted it lightens up and turns to mush when you boil the living daylights out of it, but then who wants to eat that. I honestly couldn’t see how roasting cauliflower could make it taste better.
Well, I am here to say that I was wrong. I have never had better cauliflower than when I roasted it in the oven the other night. The edges were nice and caramelized and the stalks and the florets just became really light, airy, and flavorful (due in part to my seasonings). I don’t know if I would ever want to cook it a different way again; roasting it is that good. In addition it is really simple to do.
The following recipe serves 4
Ingredients:
- ½ head of Cauliflower
- ¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Here’s some olive oil dispensers you may like)
- 1 tsp. Kosher Salt (Check out our recommended salt and pepper grinder sets!)
- ½ tsp. Coarse Ground Black Pepper
- ½ tsp. Savory
- 1 ½ tsp. Herb de Provence
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425°.
Slice through the cauliflower in 1 inch sections so that your pieces have at least 1 flat side. Put Cauliflower in a large mixing bowl and then drizzle the olive oil over it as evenly as you can. Sprinkle the herbs and spices over the cauliflower and then toss it with a spoon until each piece looks well covered.
Place the cauliflower flat side down on a large baking sheet . (I cover my baking sheets with aluminum foil for easy clean up.) Bake for 25-30 minutes. Turn the cauliflower half way through. Each side should get nice and brown.
This is a must try recipe to jazz up your oh so boring meals!
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