A beginner-level recipe that delivers great toasted, caramelized cauliflower with garlic and herbs. Enjoy it as a side dish, or as a replacement for noodles or potatoes.
After a high-heat roasting, cauliflower becomes toasted with a caramelized crust while retaining a nice, firm texture. Including herbs and garlic adds a tasty complexity--not to mention great smell.
This makes it a go-to in our kitchen when we need a side that can stand on its own, such as alongside grilled steak to rotisserie chicken. We also enjoy it as a base for sauce- or gravy-heavy centerpieces like pastas and stews. In that fashion, it replaces the heavier traditional base of noodles, mashed potatoes, or other complex starch.
Selecting Herbs
Many options can be used for the herb selection. My approach is to consider what I am pairing the cauliflower with, and then selecting one of the following:
Complement: Pair a different herb that will balance nicely with the other dishes. For example, a gravy-heavy stew probably needs to be the heavy hitter, so pick a light herb like thyme for the cauliflower.
Connect: Use the same herb(s) that are in the other dishes. For example, if I'm lacing my ribeyes with rosemary and sage, then I will include those with the cauliflower. If my chicken is roasted with Herbes de Provence, I'll include those.
The amount to use depends on the herb chosen and most importantly your taste preference. Thyme is relatively light, so 1-2 tsp will do. Rosemary is much heavier, especially fresh, so 1 tsp should do. Herbes de Provence and Italian Herbs will fit somewhere in between. Just remember, you can always add more, but you can't take it back out ;)
Ingredients
1 head of cauliflower
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
Herbs (see note above for amount)
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 deg F, either convection or conventional.
Rinse the cauliflower head, remove the stem, and carve into similar-sized florets per your preference
In a bowl, toss the florets with the remaining ingredients.
Place the florets in a roasting dish, taking care to have them laying flat against the dish as much as possible (the flat contact maximizes the toasting).
Place the dish in the oven and let roast for 25 minutes convection or 35 minutes conventional.
Remove the dish from the oven and stir the florets so new sides are against the dish. Return the dish to the oven for another 15 minutes.
Remove the dish from the oven and stir one last time and serve.
Tags: #cauliflower #roasting
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