Cauliflower Steaks
11 Wed, 2010 § 2 Comments
Another TKD favorite: Silverstone’s husband devised this after experiencing a version in a fancy, NY restaurant. Well done Christopher!
Serves 2 people:
- Preheat oven to 375*
- Slice head of a Cauliflower as you would cut a loaf of bread, making ½”-¾” thick slices per person. [We use about half a head for two people.]
- Arrange on a lightly oiled baking sheet.
- Core & slice half a Fennel bulb & scatter over same baking sheet or use two if necessary. [The fennel makes this, so I think it is absolutely necessary, but you could use onion I suppose. If you do not have fennel, a rub of crushed anise lightly massaged into the cauliflower should offer a similar flavor.]
- Brush the cut surfaces of Cauliflower & Fennel with EVOO.
- Season lightly with sea salt & freshly ground pepper.
- Roast the vegetable steaks until they are light brown, about 15 minutes; then flip, brush with oil & roast another 15 minutes until browned & tender.
We recently enjoyed this with shredded carrot salad tossed with homemade balsamic vinaigrette & another simple favorite: freshly cooked chickpeas [or slightly roasted if not fresh/warm] tossed with EVOO & sea salt. Superb.
Have you made it with onion before? I don’t generally like fennel – it tastes too much like anise (and therefore licorice, which I hate) for my liking…but I wonder if it’s good with the onion instead?
I have not, because I love fennel. [I also love black licorice ;)] Roasted onion is excellent too though, so I am sure it would be good; you could always caramelize onion on the stove top while the cauliflower roasted, then top it much like is done with ground round. Depends if you want it to taste like onion. I like shallot a lot which is generally sweeter & more tender. You don’t even need onion necessarily–just EVOO, s&p are really nice on the “steak”–or roast other vegetables to go along side it.