I love vegetables in many ways and I had to try making roasted cauliflower steaks. A side dish that is very flavorful and quite filling. Prepared this way, cauliflower stays nice and firm and gives the impression of eating a vegan steak. The spices make it very fragrant and tasty and, of course, it is super light.
The most challenging part of this recipe is cutting the central part of the cauliflower into even slices, leaving ends that can be used for other dishes or simply frozen and added to soups later.
Nothing is wasted from the cauliflower; in fact, it is the central part that provides a lot of fibers and is more filling. The taste can be easily varied by changing the spices. Vegetarian and vegan friends, and anyone looking for a nutritious and light dish: let’s see how it’s prepared…
Here are some other cauliflower recipes:
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Very Cheap
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 2
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Healthy
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter
Ingredients
- 1 cauliflower (large enough to make 4 big steaks)
- 0.68 fl oz extra virgin olive oil (4 teaspoons)
- 2 tablespoons spices (dry mixed: thyme, rosemary, sage, and sweet paprika)
- 1 lemon
- as needed baby spinach (optional)
- a few sprigs parsley
- as needed salt
- as needed pepper
- Total Points (4 steaks) = 4 WW points
- Points per serving (2 steaks) = 2 WW points
Tools
- Cutting Board
- Knife
- Bowl
- Brush
- Baking Tray
- Parchment Paper
Steps
First, prepare all the ingredients, especially the spices you plan to use, and mix them well.
Remove the outer leaves of the cauliflower and then use a long, sharp knife to cut 4 nice thick slices, about one finger thick. Be careful not to cut yourself; with the knife in the photo, when it was brand new, I managed to get 4 stitches on my thumb…
In a bowl, mix all the spices with salt, pepper, and oil. Use a brush or your fingertips to coat the cauliflower slices well with this mix. Place the seasoned slices on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
Preheat the oven to 392°F, then bake until the cauliflower is well roasted and the more fibrous central part can be easily pierced with a fork: it will take about 20 minutes. If you like, you can also turn on the grill for a few minutes at the end, depending on your taste, whether you like it more or less golden.
I haven’t tried using an air fryer as mine can only fit one slice. But if you have a very large air fryer, cook the cauliflower at 356°F for 15 minutes, then do the fork test.
Our roasted cauliflower is almost ready to be served. Cut the lemon in half: squeeze half and slice the rest for the final garnish. Drizzle the juice over the cauliflower slices and serve them on a bed of your favorite greens: I used a handful of baby spinach. Garnish with lemon slices and parsley sprigs, and we can go to the table!
I thought the portion would be unsatisfying, but two slices are very filling, it’s amazing, I was surprised! They remained delicious even after cooling. In fact, at home, my boys refuse to eat cauliflower, so I kept the other portion in the fridge and ate it a couple of days later: equally tasty, maybe even better! Try it and then let me know if you enjoyed it as much as I did.
Enjoy your meal.
by Giovanna Buono
Storage
As mentioned, you can store roasted cauliflower in the fridge for 3 days. You can reheat it in the oven for a few minutes or simply take it out of the fridge a few hours before serving to bring it to room temperature. I haven’t tried freezing it, but I don’t recommend it as the cauliflower slices might become too soft.
