Roasted Cauliflower

[Toliver]

I roast it uncovered and oiled. Never gets truly crisp though.

I think this is the key comment. The initial poster of this discussion said something to the effect that roasted cauliflower is just like french fries...except it's really not. You won't get a true crispy piece of cauliflower. It will be browned, there can be crisp bits, it can also be golden, but it won't ever really be crisp, not like a french fry. Sorry if you were misled...

[blue_dolphin]

I do believe gfweb and Toliver have addressed your concern.  I love this stuff.  When fresh out of the oven, there is a tiny bit of crispness in the darkest bits while the middles are meltingly tender and tasty.   After sitting a bit, that little bit of crispness is gone but the flavor is still good.

Here, I have absent mindedly eaten half a cauliflower at its best:

[Thanks for the Crepes]

blue_dolphin,

 

Your roasted cauliflower looks just like what I prefer. And you're right; eating it directly off the pan as soon as it cools enough so that you don't burn your fingers or mouth is the way to go for optimum quality and crispiness. I can happily eat any leftovers the next day right from the fridge, though. I still love the flavor, although any crispness is gone, and to me, flavor is not improved by heating, and microwaving makes it even soggier.

 

MetsFan5,

 

Sorry the technique I suggested didn't work out for you. There are many others in the body of this thread. It's just the one I like best, and hoped you'd enjoy it too.

 

Perhaps you might enjoy better Indian deep-fried Gobi pakora or bhajji. These are crispier, but perhaps not as healthy, and for myself, I just really enjoy cauliflower roasted in the way I described and  as pictured above by blue_dolphin. 

 

Again, thanks to eGullet for a much treasured dish I would not have known about otherwise.

[MetsFan5]

Thanks for the Crepes-- I think it's my user error and not your directions! I also think, from previous posts, I had overblown expectations. Which is fine, the only way I will learn is by trying, and trying again. Much to my pups pleasure!

[Alex]

The New York Times gets in on the action, except this time they're roasting the head intact (minus the leaves and part of the core, of course).

 

Quote

The whole roasted cauliflower (along with the single giant beet and the overgrown carrot) recently surfaced as a favorite chef’s trick. It is the centerpiece of menus at restaurants as far-flung as Los Angeles (Ford’s Filling Station), New Orleans (Domenica) and beyond, to Paris and Vienna, where the Israeli chef Eyal Shani has recently opened outposts of his Tel Aviv restaurant, Miznon.

 

[Toliver]

I had roasted cauliflower with last night's dinner. I'd forgotten how good this was.

I am in hopes to make more of this in the cold winter months ahead.

[gfweb]

@Toliver I've taken to tossing them with shredded cheddar or parm and baking for 5 min more...

[Toliver]

8 minutes ago, gfweb said:

@Toliver I've taken to tossing them with shredded cheddar or parm and baking for 5 min more...

That sounds so good. I eyed a container of shredded parm in my refrigerator last night as I was fixing my dinner. Guess I should follow my impulses more!

I had an odd struggle with my oven though...it took forever to heat up (or I was possibly too impatient with it). It took far too long to roast it last night until I finally pulled it out of the oven and said it was done.  Yes, it was done.

I do that parm trick with my roasted asparagus. Damn, that's good eats!

[Raamo]

I didn't realize Roasted Cauliflower had it's own topic.

 

But it does deserve one   We found out how good Cauliflower can be at our local Sri Lankan restaurant, they have deep fried cauliflower.

 

We have an awesome indian cookbook that has a recipe that's simmilar - fried cauliflower in chickpea batter w/ spices.  

 

And now thanks to finding a recipe for pasta with Roasted Cauliflower which I posted in Dinner 2017 I can see why it has the love.

 

This is so much better then boiled CF with cheese sauce (melted Velveeta) which is the only way I'd known cooked CF before... and why I hated the vegetable as a child..

[TdeV]

Thank you for all 18 pages of this topic!

 

Only took me a few days . . .

[MetsFan5]

Ok I have a nice head of califower. Should I attempt to spice and roast it? If so what temp and how long?

 

  Of should I test my deep fryer out? 

[MelissaH]

6 hours ago, MetsFan5 said:

Ok I have a nice head of califower. Should I attempt to spice and roast it? If so what temp and how long?

 

  Of should I test my deep fryer out? 

I've always had better luck cutting a head into florets before roasting. It doesn't look as impressive as the whole head, but it also cooks more evenly and is easier to serve. (Toss the florets in a bit of oil with salt and whatever spices you want. I typically do about 400 °F, tossing and turning every 10 minutes ago until they're done. Exact cook time depends on how ambitious you were with your knife.)

[BeeZee]

I like to slice it so you get flat surfaces (about 1/2" thick) that way you get more even cooking/browning. The various small bits that break off get really toasty on the pan, yum. If I'm being diligent I'll take the pieces off the baking sheet as they get done, since some of the larger sections need more time. I will usually cook at 400 degrees and the amount of time depends on how you cut the head up. I will flip the slices halfway through, I'm guessing I cook for around 30 minutes total?

[Alex]

10 hours ago, MetsFan5 said:

Ok I have a nice head of califower. Should I attempt to spice and roast it? If so what temp and how long?

 

  Of should I test my deep fryer out? 

 

Deep fryer would be overkill, imo. I usually do what MelissaH does, with just oil and salt. For an interesting spice variation, consider using shichimi togarashi after you remove the cauli from the oven.

[nickrey]

One of the recent trends with vegetables is to char them, i.e. to deliberately burn them so the outside is burnt and the inside cooked. Cauliflower takes to this particularly well.

 

Basically you bake it first so it's just cooked through (personally I prefer a bit of crunch left in it) and then char on a hot grill. Gives you the best of both worlds.