Roasted Cauliflower

[Anna N]

I think this is what you want.

[fifi]

I did brussel sprouts like this for Christmas dinner. They were really large so I quartered them. I didn't realize that I was doing the same thing as this recipe at the time. Since they were pretty big chunks, I reduced the temperature to about 325 to let them cook through after the initial browning. They were incredible. I can't wait to try the cauliflower.

[tommy]

having already jumped on the bandwagon, i can say that roasted brussels and cauliflower account for about 90% of the vegetables that i cook. and, i've converted more than a few guests from "haters" to "lovers".

[Cleo]

Tommy, throw in a red onion. You won't be sorry!

[Rachel Perlow]

Another good use for leftover roasted cauliflower (leftovers??!?!?!): they make an excellent omelet filling. Add bacon and a little cream or half & half to the eggs and it is like a crustless quiche.

[slkinsey]

having already jumped on the bandwagon, i can say that roasted brussels and cauliflower account for about 90% of the vegetables that i cook. and, i've converted more than a few guests from "haters" to "lovers".

Rock on!

I made a shaved Brussels sprout and stilton gratin (also included fresh bread crumbs, onion, garlic and evoo) for Xmas eve dinner that blew my parents away.

[alacarte]

I recall that in college, I read a magazine article which said that a certain supermodel regularly consumed a whole, roasted head of cauliflower -- and nothing else -- for dinner.

Since I had my first off-campus apartment, complete with grubby kitchen, I thought eating a cauliflower dinner would be a great way to look like a supermodel on my limited college-student budget. So I put an unadorned cauliflower in a pan, turned on the oven, and left it there for about an hour.

It was awful. I couldn't eat the whole thing, and I did not look one bit more like a supermodel.

Boy do I wish I'd had some of these recipes on hand....

[Anna N]

We just have to retire this thread until the price of cauliflower drops! Read it last night and couldn't wait until the stores opened this morning - then - sheesh - tiny heads of cauliflower $5.00! I rummaged in the "tired produce" cart and found a head that looked at least as good as the ones for $5.00 so managed to assuage my craving for roasted cauliflower and it was loverly! Pan-roasted in butter and evoo, brightened up with some salt and (for a change) white pepper! I thought about experimenting with variations but this is so good just the way it is that I decided no fancy additions.

[ronnie_suburban]

We just have to retire this thread until the price of cauliflower drops! Read it last night and couldn't wait until the stores opened this morning - then - sheesh - tiny heads of cauliflower $5.00! I rummaged in the "tired produce" cart and found a head that looked at least as good as the ones for $5.00 so managed to assuage my craving for roasted cauliflower and it was loverly! Pan-roasted in butter and evoo, brightened up with some salt and (for a change) white pepper! I thought about experimenting with variations but this is so good just the way it is that I decided no fancy additions.

Yeah it can be expensive and the yield is low, generally speaking.

=R=

[Toliver]

I made roasted cauliflower for my family to go with our Christmas Eve dinner. My mom was already making green beans with butter & almonds so I just roasted one head (sliced as per the Jim Dixon recipe) thinking it would be enough to let everyone have a taste. Two women at the dinnertable nearly came to fisticuffs over the last bit remaining in the bowl after it had been passed around the table! Needless to say, it was a big hit.

One very different thing though: My mom's (gas) oven is about a year old and has never really been calibrated correctly. Her cooking times always seem to be off because of this.

I set the temp to 400 degrees (like the recipe calls for) but it had to have been actually lower since, at the ten minute mark, I took the cauliflower out to turn the pieces and not a piece had been browned.

Wassup wit dat?

So figuring the temp was off, I just set a timer and every 10 minutes I turned the cauliflower. Instead of the white-ish bits with brown spots that I got on the caluiflower when I previously cooked this recipe in my own (electric) oven at home, the cauliflower ended up becoming a pale golden color with brown edges. It was absolutely gorgeous and tasted as good as it looked. I think the total cooking time ended up being about 30 or 40 minutes.

Now I am thinking the next time I try this recipe at home, I'm going to try it in a slower oven to see if I can achieve the same golden color I got on Christmas Eve.

Has anyone else have this happen to them?

[phaelon56]

Sometimes you find out you're not quite as smart as you thought you were .

This was already damn near a daily event for me in my pre Egullet days. Now it happens a number of times every day - this is good.

[cjsadler]

Do you guys get them to come out crunchy? Mine never really made it to that stage. I left them in for a while longer but to get really dark they needed almost 35-40 minutes. And then a bunch of them were burned. Also, i found that i had to keep flipping them because the bottoms were getting burned from touching the hot baking tray.

Am I doing sometihng wrong? It seems that cooking them at a lower heat and slower would yield crunchier veggies. Anyone try that?

I had the exact same problems and then made the discovery that a quality sheet pan makes all the difference. I've upgraded all my other cookware, but for some reason never thought much about replacing my crappy sheet pans. Heavy gauge stainless pans will brown your food much more evenly. Everything comes out so nice now-- potatoes, cauliflower.... and I agree that the roasted broccoli is about 80% as good as the cauliflower. Used some garlic infused olive oil on it and it was delicious.

[fifi]

I have the really heavy gauge aluminum half sheets from the restaurant supply place. How would those work versus the stainless steel.

[cjsadler]

I have the really heavy gauge aluminum half sheets from the restaurant supply place. How would those work versus the stainless steel.

Now that I look at mine, I'm not sure what it is. It says 'aluminized steel'.

As long as it's heavy gauge, I'm not sure how much it matters. Maybe slkinsey can chime in here.

[rkolluri]

I don't know who I should thank for the roasted cauliflower idea, but I owe someone a big Thank You. I tried it a few days ago and while my wife and I liked it, I was amazed that my 4 year old son really liked it. And he actually asked today if he could have cauliflower for dinner! This from a child who limits his "vegetable" intake to a few squirts of ketchup.

Thanks again.

rkolluri

[Anna N]

This is not really off topic since it relates to roasted cauliflower but I did want to share this experience. I cleaned out my fridge yesterday and found some small cauliflower bits leftover from my last roasting. They were in a simple glass container with a lid stored on a shelf. I was amazed that they looked and smelled perfectly fine. I checked back on this thread to see when I bought the cauliflower - Dec 31! That means it stayed fresh for all that time. Naturally, I pan-roasted it and ate it for breakfast!

[Mottmott]

I tasted pan roasted/fried cauliflower in Italy in my youth and have made this delicious dish ever since. I can make an entire meal on most of a whole cauliflower myself! (it shrinks) My kids love it, too.

I agree with those who give it 30-40 minutes in the oven. When I do it on the stove, I usually steam the head whole slightly. Doing this the night before allows finishing more quickly stovetop without overbrownintg. When I do it stovetop, I usually dredge the flowerets in seasoned flour and use lots of olive oil.

This lends itself to all sorts of seasoning & spices, though the Italian variation is my favorite. And this is the one place where I sometimes use garlic powder.

[fifi]

I just did this for lunch. This is the single most delicious vegetable dish I have EVER tasted. I went 30 minutes at 400F on a heavy aluminum half sheet. I could have gone maybe 40 minutes and gotten more browned pieces. This was a smallish cauliflower and fit nicely on the one sheet. I ate the whole thing.

Now I have a logistical problem. I have oven room for 2 half sheets. If I have more than 2 diners, I will have a discipline problem... hitting, kicking and biting over "fair share". Maybe the answer is not to plan on it as a side but as a garnish on salad, pasta or something.

Good Lord that stuff is good.

[KatieLoeb]

My thanks as well to Jim Dixon for the original suggestion, and to everyone else for their refinements. I did this last night for the first time and it was absolutely delicious. I just separated the head into florets (cut in half if still large) and drizzled with cooking EVOO, sea salt. a little garlic powder and fresh pepper. Tossed into a 400 degree oven for about 35 minutes, stirring it up every eight to ten minutes to coat with oil and seasonings. Delicious. And I definitely understand whomever said it "tastes like there's cheese on it!" A new staple in my home, for sure.

[Sandra Levine]

It's really Amanda Hesser you should thank.

[KatieLoeb]

Well then. Thanks Amanda!

[Toliver]

It's really Amanda Hesser you should thank.

Well, when Amanda starts posting on eGullet, I will thank her.

Until then, I will attribute this recipe to our own Jim Dixon who brought it to our attention and will heap on him all the kudos this excellent recipe deserves.

[sfmiller]

I kept thinking "cauliflower can't be this good, can it?" while reading this threat.

I made this dish tonight, and I believe. It can. Roasted a huge (10") head along with some buttercup squash (my former favorite veg for roasting) in second pan, expecting to have abundant leftovers to play with. Nope: two of us demolished all of it and wanted more.

Delicious and dead easy to make. My kind of food.

[jcsaucey]

Try sauteing small flourettes in butter and a little olive oil. Once the butter starts to brown add some thinly sliced garlic and toss the mixture with breadcrumbs.Toss the pan in the oven and roast until it smells nice and finnish with some freshly grated parm-reg and parsley.

[Andrew Fenton]

I was also inspired to roast up a 'flower last night. Good stuff. It didn't taste like french fries (but then, I cut it into florets rather than slices, which probably inhibited caramelization), but had an excellent, rich flavor. I went through half a head on my own, no problem. Tonight I'll follow soba's suggestion and turn the leftovers into some soup, hooray!