403 replies to this topic

[rancho_gordo]

The first time I made this I thought you all were rather "easy to please". But then I carefully made it again, as La Fifi describes and of course I am now addicted. From your description, FistFullaRoux, a quarter cup of oil strikes me as too much. I think that's what I did the first time and it was pleasant but just another vegetable. When I cut back the oil (and really sliced it 1/4 inch thin) I was sold.

But I refuse to pay $3 in-season in California for a head of cauliflower!

[fifi]

Yep... If it isn't sliced thin it is just another cauliflower. I don't get it but it must be true. The SSB in me is wondering why this is so. I will have to think about it.

Mabelline... I am now sniffing at some Indian spice mixture that came from Penzey's. It was in a gift. The more I sniff it the better I like it. Can you tell what is in the Spice Islands Greek? That sounds good, too. You are right. Decisions. Decisions.

[Mabelline]

Awright--no hyperventilating allowed, folks---dehydrated onion and dehydrated garlic,'spices',salt, mint leaf...now, let me smell--ok--some oregano, and I tend to think dried lemon peel. I'm intending to slowly rehydrate it in the oil. Yep, that's the stuff I'll use. I think that flavor will blend with the poached egg.

[KatieLoeb]

Finally, after all of the oohs and aahs about it, I tried this tonight. The wife is on her low carb phase leading up to her surgery, so dinner tonight was a couple of big ass porterhouses, her baked cabbage (which she loves and it couldn't be easier. Cut a cabbage head in half, then quarter the half. Drape with bacon, 350 degree oven for an hour. Nice.), and I tried the cauliflower.

Wasn't really that impressed, to tell the truth. I cut about a half a head into florets, S&P, olive oil, a bit of garlic powder (I forgot to pick up garlic when I went to the store for steaks. mea culpa), and a dash of Tabasco, just because it's me, then onto a baking sheet @ 350. Took about 30 minutes, but I did get some pretty color on them.

There is a substantial bitter aftertaste that I couldn't get past. They weren't burnt, it's just the existing bitterness or earthiness that cauliflower has that I really don't like. It seemed to be enhanced. And it tasted nowhere near potatoes in any way shape or form. The wife likes it though, so I'll be making it again for her.

I made this again tonight and instead of doing florets as I had in the past, I did the "cross sections of brain" 1/4" slices that are called for in the original recipe. I liked the dish before - I absolutely LOVE it now. Made all the difference in terms of the level of tenderness and browning/carmelization that was achieved on the cauliflower. I ate almost an entire head myself

I tossed the slices and nibbly bits with good EVOO, sea salt and fresh ground pepper and spread them out on two pans that were lined in aluminum foil and lightly sprayed with Olive Oil cooking spray. I put the pans in a 400 degree oven and tossed the vegetables about every ten minutes or so. Halfway through the cooking I sprinkled a bit of mixed ground spice on it (I honestly can't remember if it was Emeril's Essence or Trader Joe's Twenty One Seasoning Salute). I waited until all was browned and slightly crisp around the edges (approx. 40 minutes) and then took it out. It was unbelievably delicious. Could definitely sub for a more carbohydrate laden side dish. If vegetables tasted like this all the time, children would eat them unquestioningly.

I thank all of you for bringing this topic back to the fore. As I was enjoying my cauliflower this evening I was dreading digging up the topic again so I could admit the error of my ways in not following the instructions to the letter the first few times.

[FistFullaRoux]

Well, I still have half a head of cauliflower left. I'm willing to pull out the ruler and give it one more try, following the recipe to the letter. I already paid the 3 bucks for it, so I might as well try to eat it. I know my wife will if I don't.

Giving you all the benefit of the doubt. I'll report back. Might try it again tomorrow night or Monday.

[bloviatrix]

Thank you ! I made this and now it is a staple in our house, it goes to prove if the food is prepared the correct way people will like it.

I'm in complete agreement with you on this. My theory is more kids would eat vegetables if their parents just knew how to cook them. Roasting does wonders for everything!

[Janedujour]

I also made this for the first time the other night. I'd printed Rachel's recipe months ago and have been dying to try it.

I absolutely love it!!

But, I've always love cauliflower, cabbage, turnips, etc. I'm a root vegetable nut!

Try this with brussels sprouts:

Wash and trim, cut a bit extra off the stem so the leaves are easier to remove. Then remove each leaf that doesn't fall off.

Throw all the leaves into boiling salted water for about 5-6 minutes, then drain.

In the pot add 3 TBLS butter, 1 tsp dijon mustard, and the juice of 1/4 lemon (more or less to taste) Toss in sprout leaves and salt and pepper to taste.

I also like it with whole grain mustard.

Hope you like it!

[fifi]

Here is a picture of the onion/garbanzo/cauliflower mixture. I was going to show you how it was incorporated into a salad with shrimp etc. Unfortunately, it did not make it off the pan. The vultures ATE IT! OFF THE PAN! I was lucky to get a picture. If you see any degradation in the quality of the picture it is because I was fighting off the hungry hoards. (I went a little nuts with the garbanzos but they are so good.)

New tip from my sister. That is a sheet of non-stick Reynolds aluminum foil in the half sheet pan. It worked great. It was easy to move the stuff around and the cooking was more even than the bare half sheet.

[Mabelline]

fifi, I made mine as well, and I do not remember a large dish SO and I vacuumed that quickly before. I used my Spice Islands Greek Seasoning, and the taste was killer. Next time, I'm going for Indian. The picture is too tastee.

[KatieLoeb]

What's up with the garbanzo beans?!? Are they canned and rinsed/drained, or soaked fresh ones? That looks like a fabulous addition, both nutritionally and tastewise.

I'm too lazy to look backward in the thread. Fifi, could you kindly explain the method for the dish in that oh-so-appetizing photo? Pleeeeease?

[fifi]

First... This wasn't my idea. Someone else up-thread came up with it.

There is a whole #2 (14 oz?) can of Goya garbanzos in there. I dumped them in a colander and rinsed them well. Then I thought it might be a good idea to dry them off some so they would get coated with the oil better. I stirred them around with a couple of paper towels. Then I got interupted and they sat in the colander for a while so they were pretty dry. I'm not sure what that has to do with anything.

Half of a big red onion, quartered and cut into 1/2 inch slices. And the cauliflower, of course. All was thoroughly tossed with about 1/3 cup olive oil (or a little less) and about 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt. (I couldn't find the Greek seasoning a la Mabelline. )

The only other difference from the original recipe is that I had to go an extra 10 minutes at 400 so that was 50 minutes. Must be the extra mass of the garbanzos. I also had that sheet on non-stick foil on the sheet pan and that extra layer may have provided enough insulation to slow it down. If that is the reason, I think the sheet of foil is still worth it because it cooked more evenly.

The salad idea came up because a friend had a bunch of shrimp left over from a shrimp boil. The original idea was to make a salad with a mayo based dressing. (Sort of like for a lobster roll?) We were going to serve it on a bed of greens and sprinkle the cauliflower mixture over it.

I didn't take pictures because we never got that far. Too many shrimp got eaten while we were peeling them. The cauliflower mixture was Hoovered immediately. We said... "Screw the greens we will eat our vegetables tomorrow."... then opened another bottle of wine.

[FistFullaRoux]

Well, I would have tried it again, but I came in from an errand yesterday afternoon and the wife had already made dinner. With (shudder) steamed cauliflower. She didn't realize I was going to have another go at roasting them. Little white brain tissue things staring at me from the plate.

Another attempt will have to wait.

And regarding the first attempt, I think you are right about too much oil. I did drain them well with a slotted spoon before putting them on the pan, but there still was a couple of teaspoons that collected along the edge. One oven rack is at a little bit of an angle - apartment stove - so the excess oil ran down to one end. At least they weren't swimming in it. I got a good roasted flavor, and the texture was good, salt level was OK, didn't taaste burnt, it just tasted like roasted cauliflower.

Maybe I am expecting too much. I still don't see how a cruciferous vegetable can be made to taste like a bland starch. It soaked up the seasoning I gave it just fine. It was flavored well, but the underlying sulphur-like taste was still there.

[Toliver]

New tip from my sister. That is a sheet of non-stick Reynolds aluminum foil in the half sheet pan. It worked great. It was easy to move the stuff around and the cooking was more even than the bare half sheet.

Thanks for the reminder about the non-stick foil. I should have put that in the "This Really Works" thread. It really works.
I always line my roasting sheet pan with foil (non-stick or whatever's onhand) when roasting cauliflower which makes cleanup a breeze.
fifi, your pic looks great! I may have to give nutcake's & redfox's chickpeas/cauliflower/red onion combo a try.

[viaChgo]

I finally got around to trying this this. However, there was no cauliflower at my grocery store! They did have this thing called 'BroccoFlower' which basically looked like light green cauliflower. So I used it instead. Got great results! To me it tasted like cauliflower but I haven't had cooked cauliflower in a while so I couldn't tell how much of a difference there was. Whatever it was, it was probably subtle. Same texture though. I'll post a pic here when I download it off my camera. I threw in some sliced white onion as well. I think next time, I'm just going to do the cauliflower on its own.

[picaman]

Had roasted cauliflower this weekend--delicious! It went well with my steamed okra

Roasted brussels sprouts are awesome as well--now I'm off on a cruciferous vegetable buying spree!



Jamie

EDIT: spelling

Edited by picaman, 17 February 2004 - 11:09 AM.

[lamb]

Had friends over this weekend and made roasted cauliflower and brussel sprouts as sides. They were gobbled up.
Also made citrus glazed carrots Citrus Glazed Carrots (see third recipe down) to offset all the roasted veggies. They went over great too! Was able to make them before hand, and just nuke them for 1 minute to warm.
I'm on a veggie roll.

[scubadoo97]

I swear I am absolutely addicted to this. We have been having it about every other night. My wife and I will eat one head with no problem it is soooo good. I have done broccoli and brussel sprouts and although good don't compare to the cauliflower.

[foodie3]

made it once and it was good, but hated the smell in the kitchen for the rest of the evening!

[Toasted]

Asparagus roasted is also very good, so good that the children eat it without
the usual obnoxious comments. Today I found some for only $ 1.99 lb. so I
got a lot and will be cooking with it all week.

[Scott -- DFW]

Finally tried the roasted cauliflower recipe last night. Followed the basic instructions (seasoned with kosher salt and coarsely ground black pepper). Removed the cauliflower and spread thinly sliced pepperoni (from a local Italian deli) on the same sheet and put it under the broiler until they were nice and crispy. Put the pepperoni and cauliflower together in a bowl and tossed with some of the rendered fat from the pepperoni. Made a bechamel (with a little more pepper than usual) and poured it over the bowl, placing one of the lacy presentation slices of cauliflower across the top. Placed matchsticks of Fuji apple in a ring around the edge of the bowl. Turned out great. The flavors and textures came together brilliantly. If I were to do it again, though, I'd add a touch of sweetness, perhaps with a dice of roasted red bell pepper. That would round it out nicely.

Thanks for the roasting idea!

Scott

[jane dough]

I love cauliflower and prepare it many ways. I have roasted it before, loved it, but did not reach the level discussed here.

Last night I tried it again. After reading this (long) thread, I used more patience, let it roast longer, and finally got it right. I let it get very brown edges, some crumbs on the edge of being burnt. It is remarkable. Toasted, flavorful, amazing.

Glad I tried it, yet again. Thanks for the good info!

[phaelon56]

I finally got around to trying this last night. Tossed it with a bit of sesame oil, garlic oil and olive oil, tossed on some seasoned salt and made sure it was in nice thin slices. It had to roast for longer than I thought it would. Started at 400 degrees but that seemed too hot. After 15 minutes it was browning too quickly - turned it down and then back up - total roasting time about 70 minutes.

My only regret is that I didn't roast two heads instead of one. It was golden brown, crunchy in parts and delicious. My daughter and her college friends were over - all tried it and loved it. Now I need more cookies sheets to cook bigger batches!

[tommy]

My only regret is that I didn't roast two heads instead of one. It was golden brown, crunchy in parts and delicious. My daughter and her college friends were over - all tried it and loved it. Now I need more cookies sheets to cook bigger batches!

you bring up a good point about using 2 sheets for large batches. if you overcrowd this stuff, it tends to steam more than roast. not a good thing. well, not a *horrible* thing, but you know.

[fifi]

Owen... Did you check your oven temperature? Also, I am hearing some variability in time and the type of pan. For instance, I was using clean heavy aluminum half sheets and it was 40 minutes at a verified 400F oven. Then I added that sheet of non-stick aluminum foil and I had to add 10 minutes but it cooked more evenly.

[Toliver]

I am hearing some variability in time and the type of pan.

I posted about this earlier in the thread. I can attest that I roasted more cauliflower a couple days ago using a dark brown cookie sheet with a small lip (covered with aluminum foil for easy cleanup) and it just took the 20 minutes the recipe calls for.
I can also verify Tommy's point. I made two smallish heads and ended up overcrowding the sheet pan and some pieces did just steam. But overall, I got good browning.

As for phaelon56's experience...did you turn the cauliflower at the ten minute mark like the recipe calls for? You mentioned that at 15 minutes you thought it was browning too fast. If you had turned the cauliflower at the ten minute mark, there shouldn't have been any "browning too fast" since the uncooked side would have then been down for only 5 minutes and the already-browned side would be up at that point so it wouldn't be browning anymore (I believe it's the contact with the sheet pan and the oil that creates the browning). Unless, of course, as fifi suggested, there is a calibration problem with your oven.
If you use an aluminum (light colored) sheet pan, the roasting will take longer. Also, a lower oven temp will increase cooking time, decrease a majority of the browning but should provide the overall golden color previously mentioned.

[babyluck]

Mmmmmmmmmm.

My mom will never believe that I actually bought & prepared cauliflower willingly and enjoyed eating it!

I did one head, following the directions (sliced 1/4" or thinner, tossed w/ kosher salt & pepper) and split it between two cookie sheets. That presented a problem because I can only fit one on a rack in my tiny apartment oven, but I figured it would be better to keep watching & switching them than to have them steam. It took exactly 40 minutes--any longer and some pieces would have been too dark. Most of the pieces were white with lovely caramelized edges, but the best pieces were the small ones cut 1/8" thick with a little stalk & a little floret that browned all the way through but not too much to become bitter. They were unbelievably sweet & richly flavored.

Yes, the two of us finished off the whole head with no problem--too bad, no leftovers to dip in tahini sauce or put over pasta (I'm making spaghetti w/ pesto/potatoes/green beans tonight--would have been good, I think.)

Next time, I will try it at a lower temp for longer if I have the time--maybe turn it up at the end. I thought it was great as is but would have liked more of the soft, golden brown pieces.

[Suzanne F]

I finally made it the other night. YES!!!!! (I used a lower temperature and longer time, only because I was making other stuff at the same time.)

When I worked at the late Zeppole, we did a roasted cauliflower-broccoli-red onion antipasto -- all three tossed together with olive oil, S&P, and roasted in the pizza oven at very high temperature. That was good, but this is better.

Edited by Suzanne F, 07 March 2004 - 08:36 AM.

[Richard Kilgore]

I made it again today for lunch, this time the version with onion (red) and garbanzo beans -- thin sliced the cauliflower and chopped the onion. I roasted it in an aluminized steel half-sheet pan covered with non-stick aluminum foil sitting on the tiles on my botton oven rack at 400 (verified) for about 40 - 45 minutes. I think the tiles may have helped it cook faster. Then scooped the mixture into a bowl and crisped strips of pancetta slices on the half sheet and spread them over the mixture.

(edited to add the pancetta step)

Edited by Richard Kilgore, 07 March 2004 - 07:29 PM.

[Msk]

Leftover poached/shredded chicken
Avocado
Roasted Cauliflower
Rolled in Nori

Voila! Low-carb Sushi Substitute.


Msk

[GG Mora]

I don't know if this has been done already (I've read most but not all of this thread...

The other night I was roasting some cauliflower concurrent with roasting a chicken, and when I slipped the bulb baster into that lovely golden fat at the bottom of the chicken's pan with all good intent to simply baste the chicken, overindulgence overcame me and I squirted a whole basterful into the cauliflower. I swear I didn't mean too [cough]LIAR[/cough], but holy shit was it delicious.