Roasted Cauliflower

[Abra]

I've been eating roasted cauliflower at least once a week this winter. I'm not sure if anyone's mentioned it yet, but leftovers, if there happen to be any, are dynamite in a frittata the next day.

I roast the cauliflower hotter than people are talking about on recent pages, like at 425 convection, for about 25 minutes. I like it really well browned, and that works perfectly in my oven.

[patti]

Upthread someone mentioned adding cumin seeds and someone else added sesame seeds. I had great success adding fennel seeds to mine. Really excellent!

[bergerka]

Slkinsey roasted a head of cauliflower last night with a little anchovy butter.

Oh my GOD, it was good...three of us were basically battling to the death over the last little bit in the bowl.

K

[kitwilliams]

Too many pages to search through, but today at the Long Beach Marina Farmer's Market I came across something I'd never seen before. I was told it was Italian Cauliflower. It was (I say "was" because we just devoured it at dinner) pale green and looked like a beautiful piece of coral. When separated, each floret looks like a little pine tree, but, as I said, massed together it looks like a piece of coral (or really lovely barnacles). Absolutely stunning. Tossed it in olive oil, salt and pepper and roasted it at 450F for about 20 minutes, getting some nice color on the edges. Fabulous. Definitely tastes like cauliflower, not french fries, maybe a tad milder than your typical head of white cauliflower, but tastes buttery and sweet. I just popped back into the kitchen to finish it off.

Can anyone shed some light on this beautiful and delicious veg?

And forgive me if this has been discussed in the previous ten pages of roasted cauliflower discussions. Whoever would have guessed???

[snowangel]

I am not going to re-read the entire bazillion pages of this thread to see if this has been covered. But, once you put that olive-oil coated bits and large pieces of cauliflower in the sheet pan, if you sprinkle it with Goya Abobe, it is even more wonderful.

[KatieLoeb]

I made a head of Roasted Cauliflower last night with thinly sliced Vidalia onions and a rinsed and drained can of chick peas tossed on the baking sheet too. Good EVOO, a sprinkle of sea salt and a bit of Trader Joe's 21 Season Salute. I made a roast beef too and had both for dinner. Seemed like a really good idea on blizzardy night to turn on the oven for a few hours and hang out in the kitchen. Turned out fabulous and I think I'm going to toss the leftovers onto some pasta tomorrow evening.

[Susan in FL]

I keep intending to toss leftover roasted cauliflower with pasta, but I've never had any left over! I'll have to try roasting two heads.

[Toliver]

Although he already likes broccoli, we'll have to try it prepped this way soon.  Heck, I could even become a brussels sprout convert.  You never now.

←

I tried roasted broccoli. It doesn't turn out quite the same as roasted cauliflower. I think it's because it still retains some of its "broccoli essence" whereas roasted cauliflower completely ascends to a higher plane of flavor. It does brown but won't go golden, of course, because it stays green.

It's worth trying at least once, though, just so you can compare.

I also won't attempt to find the post in this lengthy discussion but I recently took on someone's suggestion of roasting carrots with cumin which turned out great. One odd thing, though, was while the aroma during the roasting was fantastic ("Cook, darn you, cook! I want to eat you now!"), the actual flavor wasn't quite as intense. Go figure...

In addition to the roasted carrot-cumin combination, the standard roasted carrot-dill combination is a winner, too.

[Allura]

Just want to add myself to the legions of fans of roasted cauliflower. :) I had meant to try it sooner but my husband kept giving me the hairy eyeball when I suggested it. Finally made it last night, as we were looking for something to munch while watching tv. Very good; I think I liked it more then he did, or else I was just more hungry. :)

[JPW]

Finally indulged in roasted cauliflower for the first time last night. Very interesting. I tend to be overly critical of my cooking and thought the execution was just OK. Need more practice.

Mrs JPW, however, loved it.

[halloweencat]

isn't the basic recipie just slice and toss with enough olive oil to coat, spread on a sheet and bake for 40 min at 400? and the alternate is 50 min at 350?

i made this a few weeks ago, but i think it needed to cook longer. only a few pieces were what i think this recipie is aiming for...but they were good. i just bought another head of cauliflower this week to try again. :)

cheers :)

hc

[Toliver]

20 minutes at 400 degrees...flipping the pieces at the 10 minute mark.

Or you could do a half hour at 375, flipping the pieces at 15 minutes.

A long slow oven will give you a golden result. At Christmas I did 45 minutes at 325 or 350 (my mom's oven calibration was off) and the pieces were all yellow gold and yummy.

A high heat will give you delicious brown bits. I like both ways...

edited to add: 40 minutes at 400 would give you burnt toast.

Edited March 2, 2005 by Toliver (log)

[bookluvingbabe]

20 minutes at 400 degrees...flipping the pieces at the 10 minute mark.

Or you could do a half hour at 375, flipping the pieces at 15 minutes.

A long slow oven will give you a golden result.  At Christmas I did 45 minutes at 325 or 350 (my mom's oven calibration was off) and the pieces were all yellow gold and yummy. 

A high heat will give you delicious brown bits.  I like both ways...

edited to add:  40 minutes at 400 would give you burnt toast.

←

I'm from the brown bits and slightly burnt school.

We usually do 425 and flip the pieces every 20 minutes for an hour.

I've noticed that a lot depends on the water content, how long its been sitting, etc. The organic Whole Foods cauliflowers cook up faster than the regular grocery store ones. The best were the purple ones from the farmers market but I've got a good 5-6 months before those puppies return to my world...

Jennifer

[fifi]

I have finally settled on 375 degrees F, heavy aluminum half sheet pan lined with non-stick foil, 50 minutes. The cauliflower is sliced 1/4 inch thick or less, tossed with 1/4 cup olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. I think bookluvinbabe is correct. There is some variation from flower to flower. I really go by looks more than time but it seems to center around 50 minutes.

[patti]

Mine seems to vary from head to head. I cooked some today for 45 minutes at 400. I like lots of browned bits and was very satisfied. Any time I've made it and didn't wait for it to brown enough, I was less than happy with the result.

[halloweencat]

i'm actually cooking it right now. at the 22- or 25-minute mark, none of the pieces/bits have any browning around them at all. i set the timer for 20 minutes more.

i used one head of average-sized cauliflower, and one half-sheet pan with tinfoil (i only have the one pan at the moment). i wonder if the greater density is preventing the browning?

also, apart from a very few pieces, i don't see where the "flip" comes into play. my cauliflower always falls apart when i cut it, so it's in small, lumpy pieces that don't "flip" so well. i did give the whole thing a good toss.

am i cutting my pieces too fine? is it that my cauliflower doesn't have a lot of moisture (the falling apart)?

cheers :)

hc

[fifi]

An average cauliflower usually fits just fine on one half sheet. I think the critical part of getting the product that we all lust after is cutting it thin enough (< 1/4) and letting it get brown enough. Yes, you get some lacy looking pieces and lots of what I call "gibbles." They are my favorite part.

[halloweencat]

"gibbles"! perfect! :)

the second 20-minute mark passed. i tossed again and let them bake for 7 more minutes. i could +start+ to smell them a that point.

the timer went off after the 7 minutes, and now they are starting to look brownish. took a taste. yes, starting to taste the way i'm anticipating.

i set the timer for 5 more minutes. we'll see soon.

btw, this will make 52 minutes at 400 (!)

linda, i noticed you're always very generous with responding to questions. thank you so much. :)

cheers :)

hc

[ronnie_suburban]

We had RC again tonight as we do almost every week. I wanted to mention it because this thread's active again and there is no end to the (seasoning, etc.) variations that can applied deliciously to this dish. Lately, I've been enjoying it with fresh ground corriander, cumin and turmeric. Yum!

Also, I want to confirm what others have posted: this is one of those dishes that does require some flexibility and adjustability in its cooking method. No 2 heads of cauliflower are alike and there are probably other variables that affect cooking time -- even when using the same oven each time. The bottom line is you have to watch it closely and in some cases allow as much as an hour of oven time. As I posted somewhere upthread, I've found that I prefer convecting the product for about the last minutes but ymmv.

Tonight, my wife was bummed because she felt like she burned it but I thought it was a glorious batch. Again, ymmv.

=R=

[halloweencat]

did 5 minutes, then 5 minutes more (57 minutes total, at 400).

for the last 5 minutes, sprinkled sea salt, nutmeg and cumin on it.

i think it could have actually gone 5-7 minutes longer, to get crispy (it's not remotely crispy, but it is tasty).

interesing that this varies so much.

cheers :)

hc

[jerkhouse]

I told my mom about this, and she's now a huge fan, as well as my uncle. It's funny that both of them had the same reaction after pulling it out of the oven: "Where'd it all go?"

[patti]

did 5 minutes, then 5 minutes more (57 minutes total, at 400). 

for the last 5 minutes, sprinkled sea salt, nutmeg and cumin on it.

i think it could have actually gone 5-7 minutes longer, to get crispy (it's not remotely crispy, but it is tasty).

interesing that this varies so much.

cheers :)

hc

←

halloweencat, I've roasted a pan of cauliflower for as long as an hour, so don't feel alone. We're all after a good tasting result!

[Toliver]

Can someone post pictures of the their finished RC? I'd like to see some of the differences in end product.

I am intrigued by the longer roasting times at such a high heat. I'm picturing blackened cauliflower, not just roasted.

Quick, someone page Prudhomme!

And I've never roasted it enough to actually get crispy RC...that's quite interesting.

The only times I've roasted it longer than the original 20 minutes was when I roasted it at my mom's house. And I attributed the longer roasting time (because it just wasn't done) to her oven not being calibrated correctly.

[LindaK]

Okay. I've seen this post out there seemingly forever. I finally got around to reading how many pages? about cauliflower. How could I not try this.

So. Just took my first batch from the oven. Am taking my very first bite now. Hot.

My verdict: yum. More than yum. It actually lives up to the hype. Though "french fries" are not the first thing that comes to mind. But who cares, this is good, I don't know if there will be any left to make it to a plate with the rest of the dinner. I used the 20 minutes per side guideline and wouldn't change a thing--but all ovens are different.

Definitely a keeper and will try the variations and creative uses (esp. soup) Merci!

[Pat W]

Well gosh! This has been a world shaking experience. My whole life I've had an aversion to only two vegetables... cauliflower & brussel sprouts. After following this thread since its beginning, tonight I succumbed and roasted a head of cauliflower. I agree with the previous posters who don't get the french fry connection but.... Oh my goodness.... it was heavenly.

Like really, really good. My 1/4" slices pretty much fell apart, but I tossed the piecelets gently in the 1/4 cup of olive oil & spread them out on a silpat lined pan. 375 degrees for about 50 minutes. In retrospect, I would have turned them over less. I'm not sure I needed to flip everything every ten or fifteen minutes... but the end result was scrumptious. The little crumblies (I forget the perfect name Fifi gave them) were incredible.

I tried to restrain myself, but ended up eating most of the experiment right off the bat. I'm embarrassed to admit that by the time my husband got home, only a trifling amount remained. He looked at the pan skeptically, absentmindedly tasted one of the remaining crumblies and proceeded to polish off the rest.

We will definitely be doing this again & again & again.

Thank you to all who came before.... I never would have dreamed of trying this without your inspiration.

So... like is there a comparable way to deal with brussel sprouts?..... Naaah, forget I asked.

Again, thank you. This was a life changing event. (You have no idea how much I disliked cauliflower.)