Roasted Cauliflower

[Peter the eater]

Oooh!  Did you serve it with caper sauce?  It's on my caper capers list!

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No, it was consumed as is, in all that golden glory.

I see the epicurious recipe suggests coring the head prior to baking - also a good idea but I didn't bother since mine was on the small side and when I twist/snap the stem I usually get most of it out.

Stems get a raw deal. I used to throw out every broccoli stem I cut, until I peeled one and ate it. Its as good or better than the florets.

[docsconz]

Oooh!  Did you serve it with caper sauce?  It's on my caper capers list!

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No, it was consumed as is, in all that golden glory.

I see the epicurious recipe suggests coring the head prior to baking - also a good idea but I didn't bother since mine was on the small side and when I twist/snap the stem I usually get most of it out.

Stems get a raw deal. I used to throw out every broccoli stem I cut, until I peeled one and ate it. Its as good or better than the florets.

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I agree. I love both broccoli and cauliflower stems.

[chappie]

Lately I've been trying to prepare lower-glycemic index meals for my wife, who is experiencing some pregnancy-related blood sugar issues. Things like fish coated in almond flour and pan-fried, spaghetti squash, etc.

I've had cauliflower puree as a substitute for mashed potatoes before, but I always found it bland. Until tonight. Using the same method as these delicious roasted cauliflower slices, but cutting them a tad thicker and cooking them a bit less -- so that they brown on the outside but still retain some (not all) of their moisture inside, I then tossed them into a food processor with a big knob of neufchatel cheese, a tablespoon of butter, salt, pepper and some milk heated with smashed garlic.

Pureed, this was so good it didn't make you miss potatoes at all.

But roasting first, that was the key to the dish's flavor.

[prasantrin]

This may have already been mentioned, but using chile-infused olive oil for roasting cauliflower (and asparagus) is really really good!

[cteavin]

I pan roasted some cauliflower this evening and the results were delicious but a little dry. Specifically, the flower part was dry. The center and the stem were moist. I did oil each pice before putting in the oven. I was thinking of covering the next batch with a leaf of aluminum foil, do you think that would help?

On an aside, having heard that roasted cauliflower is a flavor match with cocoa I tried several pieces with 'raw' cacao bean -- and it was good. Real good. I'm going to be looking into this some more.

[baroness]

I really like the texture contrast of crispy, almost burnt florets with the juicier stems.

If you don't, you could sort out and roast the tips separately from the stems. I don't think the foil would help.

[PopsicleToze]

The foil would hold in the moisture and keep it from drying out, but kindof like steaming it. However, you're not going to get the nice roasted browned lovely bits that uncovered roasting provides.

Rhonda

[daisy17]

I try to brush the oil directly on the florets themselves - they seem to need it more than the stems do. What kind of oil are you using?

[cteavin]

I try to brush the oil directly on the florets themselves - they seem to need it more than the stems do. What kind of oil are you using?

I made one batch with canola oil and a second batch with cocoa butter. Both had a good flavor.

I was thinking I had done something wrong because the tips were drying out but it seems to be just their nature. Is that right? What I was hoping to do is puree a batch for cream of cauliflower soup. I might just trim the dry bits and see how that works. Who knows, they might make a nice garnish.

[Alcuin]

I like the textural contrast between crunchy florets and soft stems but if you want a bit of moisture on the florets you could try judicious sprinkling of sauce. Brown butter and capers would work or something like a bagna cauda type of oil sauce with anchovies and garlic (and maybe some chopped dried tomato) with parsley--the possibilities are endless with roasted cauliflower.

[daisy17]

I try to brush the oil directly on the florets themselves - they seem to need it more than the stems do. What kind of oil are you using?

I made one batch with canola oil and a second batch with cocoa butter. Both had a good flavor.

I was thinking I had done something wrong because the tips were drying out but it seems to be just their nature. Is that right? What I was hoping to do is puree a batch for cream of cauliflower soup. I might just trim the dry bits and see how that works. Who knows, they might make a nice garnish.

The tips do get browned and nutty and a bit dry, but in my experimenting I have found that if I make sure to brush the oil on the tops specifically they dry out less. I also try to cut/break the florets into small pieces - I find that helps them cook through better and gives more surface area for browning.

[Mikels]

Just a crazy idea. Try roasting the florets alone in foil for a short time, enough to break down the cell walls. Then roast them as normal.

[stuartlikesstrudel]

I haven't tried this yet, but an idea came into my head which I think would be kind of cool, if it works.

Roast a whole head (as Peter so beautifully demonstrated on the previous page) and then somehow (probably with a piping bag, maybe a wide nozzle syringe) inject bechamel sauce into all the gaps inside the cauli... it would look "normal" from the outside but when you cut into it it would be all gooey and have the traditional cauliflower-and-white-sauce vibe.

I think it would be great! Even better would be finding single-serve size baby cauliflowers and doing it with that, so each one could go on the plate. Haha.

[cteavin]

Thanks for merging my thread. I didn't know there was a topic.

In reading over the other threads I was surprised no one talks about cocoa and roasted cauliflower. It was reading about the possibility that got me interested. Has anyone here tried it, yet? Yesterday, half the florets I put in the over were coated in coco butter and half of those had a drizzle of sugar. Those with sugar really went well with raw cacao nibs. I'd like to know if anyone else has done any experimenting along these lines.

Cheers

[Toliver]

This past weekend I was wandering through the produce section of my local grocery store and saw the largest head of cauliflower I'd ever encountered in my life. It was as big as a bowling ball if not bigger. Huge! And the price was good...a buck and a half per head.

By the time I was done cutting it up I had enough cauliflower for three full sheet pans.

I roasted up two pans worth last night and will be eating it for days and I don't care.

I put the rest in the refrigerator and will roast it up when the current batch is gone. Life is good.

[Anna N]

This past weekend I was wandering through the produce section of my local grocery store and saw the largest head of cauliflower I'd ever encountered in my life. It was as big as a bowling ball if not bigger. Huge! And the price was good...a buck and a half per head.

By the time I was done cutting it up I had enough cauliflower for three full sheet pans.

I roasted up two pans worth last night and will be eating it for days and I don't care.

I put the rest in the refrigerator and will roast it up when the current batch is gone. Life is good.

Good for you maybe but not for me - I don't have any cauliflower and now you have made me crave it.

[eternal]

We add in red pepper flakes and roast at about 400-450 and almost to burnt. Delicious.

Another favorite cauliflower recipe is to steam it until tender and then throw in the blender with some of the water, a little bit of butter and some olive oil (1/4 cup? somewhere around there) and s&p and blend until a thick, but pourable liquid. I serve it underneath a big, juicy pork chop. Simple and awesome

[heidih]

I put the rest in the refrigerator and will roast it up when the current batch is gone. Life is good.

How do you reheat it? I have always found that it is a pale imitation of its freshly roasted glory when I try to use leftovers.

[scubadoo97]

heidih, I like to add leftover roasted cauliflower or other roasted vegetables into a fritatta. The sweetness of the vegetables with the eggs is excellent.

[Toliver]

How do you reheat it? I have always found that it is a pail imitation of its freshly roasted glory when I try to use leftovers.

You're right...once reheated it's nothing like the original but it's good enough for lil o' me. Once it's roasted it seems to shrink down a bit so you can use that as an excuse to eat more the first time.

Have anyone tried reheating it in a skillet or on a griddle? Nuking it just seems to soften it. I'll have to experiment tonight.

I was pondering why roasted cauliflower is so good. There's the browning, of course. Since I first started making it, I've always used olive oil and I've decided that's part of it for me. The olive oil does add a little extra level of flavor to the roasted cauliflower (I also use fresh ground pepper and garlic salt/powder).

[SobaAddict70]

I put the rest in the refrigerator and will roast it up when the current batch is gone. Life is good.

How do you reheat it? I have always found that it is a pail imitation of its freshly roasted glory when I try to use leftovers.

I use it in a curry or in aloo gobi.

[SobaAddict70]

A little dusting of asafoetida and aamchur (dried mango powder) does wonders.

[heidih]

When I had a toaster oven I would reheat it at a high temp on a piece of crinkled foil but it was still not close. I understand as others have noted using it in other preps- I just wondered if I was missing a way of recapturing the initial goodness of sweetness, bit of oiliness, come toasty bits and almost a bit of funk from the cabbage nature of the beast.

[baroness]

I wonder if a fairly long, cooler - 300-325F oven - reheating would drive off the moisture and re-crisp leftovers.

Somehow it is difficult to HAVE leftovers!

[scubadoo97]

No kidding. It shrinks down to nothing and it's not uncommon for my wife and I to eat a whole head. Not bad for you if you don't over do the oil.