What struck me about the recipe was its simplicity, calling for nothing more than salt, water, and olive oil. I have seen (and made) other fussier whole-roasted cauliflower recipes, calling for entire bottles of wine for poaching and brown-butter bread crumbs for garnishing. (Sorry.) No such embellishments here. This one calls for poaching whole heads of cauliflower in well-salted water, followed by blasting the drained, dried, then well-oiled and further-salted heads in a 550ºF oven for 25-30 minutes or until they become beautifully golden with irresistibly crisp edges. Upon exiting the oven, the heads receive another drizzling of olive oil and sprinkling of salt, if you wish. The heads are so tasty on their own: the salt-water bath ensures the heads will be well-seasoned throughout, and the generous sea salt sprinkling before the heads are roasted makes the exterior especially tasty. That said, I love a condiment with this sort of thing, and a lemony yogurt sauce is simple to stir together and a particularly good match. Inspired by a dish I had at Mokonuts in Paris, I drizzled olive oil and za’atar over the smear of yogurt on the plate. Skhug would be a nice one here, too. Two more reasons why I love this dish:
- You can boil the heads ahead of time, leaving you minimal prep come dinner time. Note: you’ll need a good half an hour to get the heads golden and crisp in the oven.
- It’s festive and fun—thee heads look so dramatic on the table. Count on one head for every two people (depending, I suppose, on how many other dishes you are serving.) Incidentally, I made this most recently for Ben and my parents, all of whom loved it. I boiled two heads in the same pot several hours before they arrived, then roasted the heads on a single sheet pan about half an hour before dinner. Also on the menu: Chicken with Sherry and Sherry Vinegar, Favorite Kale Salad (without the bread crumbs), Peasant Bread, and One-Bowl Buttermilk Birthday Cake for Graham, who (somehow) turned 7 on Monday. More soon. Hope all is well! PS: All of My Favorite Cauliflower Recipes Right Here
4.8 from 5 reviews
