When cauliflower is slowly roasted with olive oil, butter, smoky spices, and a teensy bit of brown sugar it is transformed into the most savory, caramelized, delicious food you could imagine. Even someone who loves meat and craves it all of the time (like me) can be satisfied with a large cauliflower steak and call it a meal. I had it last night for dinner and am sad there are no leftovers. We cleaned our plates and scraped up every last bit out of the pan, sadly it’s all gone today. I think the cauliflower tastes good enough all on its own if you wanted to chop up the florets and make this as a side dish. For a meal, its nice to have something green and bright on the plate and the chimichurri sauce pairs nicely with the smokiness and char of the cauliflower.
This is a rough recipe since I’m still sort of on vacation mode, I guesstimated most of the seasoning and for chimichurri, I don’t think you can ever add too much parsley. Adjust the flavors to suit yourself.
What you need:
1 large head of cauliflower sliced into three 1 inch steaks, save the ends and random pieces for another use
About 4 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp dried, crushed chipotle chilis
2 tsp brown sugar
2 tsp fresh ground salt
2 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 small shallot finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 tbsp melted or softened butter
Preheat the oven to 425. Place your cauliflower steaks in a large baking pan and coat on all sides with olive oil. Now take all of your spices, shallot, and garlic and rub into the cauliflower. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and flip over with a spatula, brush melted butter over the top and place back in the oven for another 15 minutes. When cauliflower has softened and browned all over it should be done. I like to turn on the broiler for the last 2 minutes to give it a nice char on top.
For the Chimichuri Sauce, this is my go-to recipe:
3/4 cup of fresh parsley
2 tbsp fresh oregano and/or cilantro
3-4 cloves of garlic
1 large shallot
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper or mixed peppercorns
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup olive oil
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
Chop your herbs, shallot, and garlic and mix all ingredients in a bowl. Allow to sit for at least 30 minutes. You want to allow the vinegar to have time to mellow out the garlic and shallot. Can be made up to 24 hours in advance. I am a firm believer you can never have too much parsley, but adjust to your tastes.
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