Roasted Cauliflower Candy

December 2, 2009

In the Spring and Summer I grill vegetables and in Autumn and Winter I roast vegetables. Whether roasted or grilled I fix them simple and keep them on the heat until some have turned to crispy bits.

While I’m not fond of raw or steamed cauliflower, it turns into something wonderful when roasted. The flavor mellows and takes on an almost nutty flavor with a smooth but firm texture that’s not crunchy like when it’s raw or mushy when it’s steamed. Last night I ate nearly a full head of cauliflower all by myself. It may have been a small head, approximately the size of a league-sanctioned softball (leave it to a lesbian for that comparison) but it was mine, all mine and it was deee-licious. This is how I prepared it.

Pre-heat the oven to 400 and put the rack one up from the center of the oven.

Either break or cut the cauliflower into very small florets. The other way to speed up the prep time is to use a mandoline if you have one and if you don’t have one, get one. Seriously, when you get comfortable using a mandoline, meaning you learn how to use it without slicing off your finger tips, you’ll find yourself using it more and more often. The one I have is the OXO V-Bladd Mandoline Slicer and priced at just under 40.00 it’s one of the cheaper mandolines on the market and is Cook’s Illustrated top choice.

Once you have a pile of cauliflower dump it on a parchment paper covered baking sheet. Spray with a generous spritz of Pam Butter-Flavored Vegetable Spray. Toss the cauliflower on the baking sheet to mix it up and spray it again. Now spread the cauliflower out to the edges of the baking sheet so you have a flat layer instead of a pile. If the cauliflower is piled up too thick on the sheet the cauliflower underneath will essentially steam and only the top layer will get crispy and brown.

Before you put it in the oven sprinkle your preferred seasoning over the top. The top choices in our house are lemon omani (a black seed spice that tastes like lemon), smoked paprika, and garlic powder. Once your seasoning is on add a sprinkle of kosher or sea salt. Please, don’t use table salt. Not even at the table. Morton’s Table Salt is so yesterday and the crunch of sea salt adds a whole other texture to every bite.

Now just roast the cauliflower until it’s a rich dark brown. Depending on your oven it will take between 20-30 minutes. You might want to check it after the first 15 minutes and stir it up a little to allow the still white cauliflower on the bottom of the sheet to get some much needed color too.

That’s all you have to do to have a simple but beautiful vegetable side dish. A medium head of cauliflower (just under 1.5 pounds) has just 140 calories, provides a truckload of fiber and other stuff that promotes good health. And it’s yummy!

If calories aren’t a concern to you (and if that’s the case consider me rolling my eyes in your direction), then use a splash of olive oil instead of the vegetable spray and as soon as you take it out of the oven mix it with some roasted pinenuts or chopped walnuts and grate some fresh parmesan reggiano or pecorino over the top. If you just want to be decadent then go ahead and had some diced crispy bacon. You know you want to.

Posted in Apron Adventures, Food, Health and Nutrition, Maintaining Weight