Thanks to friend and neighbor Triple Threat Mommy for asking Gotham Home Table to appear today! Long time reader, first time guest-poster. I’m here in the city with my wife and daughter, and I blog about life and cooking in Downtown Manhattan.
Today we’re making cauliflower craved by the whole family. This isn’t a depressing boiled mushy mess you have to drown in melted cheese to make vaguely appetizing. We’re talking a tricked-out, caramelized nutty something-something. It’s all very 80’s movie slow-clap makeover. Think Breakfast Club/Can’t Buy Me Love. Let’s go there:
The Goods:
- Two heads cauliflower.
- Olive oil.
- Salt, cracked pepper, garlic powder.
- That’s it. Really.
The Execution:
Oven to 425°. Rinse and core the cauliflowers. Cut off the florets. Quarter the big ones, halve the little ones. Onto a cookie sheet, drizzle with olive oil, toss around with S&P and garlic powder. Don’t be meek with the olive oil, but not so much that it all pools on the pan. Coating rather than dousing. Into the oven. Forget about it until you start to smell a beautiful nutty aroma, maybe 20 mins. Toss around, continue to roast – tossing again every 5 minutes or so until it’s all nice and browned. It’s tough to overdo this, which is good because the time can vary a lot depending on your particular cauliflower. Don’t be afraid to let it sit in there, people. That’s flavor happening.
The Takeaway:
Oddly, this is really good as a cold snack too. And we’ve done a similar technique for Brussels sprouts, which are just crazy awesome.
p.s. – Use two cauliflowers. Cauliflower is like 90% water, and all this roasting will really shrink them down.