Roasted Cauliflower Head

Whole roasted cauliflower has to be my favorite method for cooking the brassica. Chopping cauliflower into florets and roasting is a decent way to cook them. Sometimes that’s mundane and boring. Roasting it whole has become a great trend and here I have an aroma-bathed recipe for you. This roasted cauliflower head is a fun way to get outside of the box and have a little bit more fun with the veg. Roasting, basting, and aromatics are always a good pairing. The prep is pretty easy and the flavors are great. 

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Recipe

ingredients 

Cauliflower 1.5 – 2Lb 

Garlic 2 bulbs 

yellow Onions 2 (400g)

Rosemary 3 sprigs (5g)

Thyme ¼ C (7g)

Lemons 2 (188g)

Olive Oil ½ C (80g) -split into 1/4 cups (40g and 40g)

1/4 for the caulifower and herbs, the other for basting 

Salt to taste 

Procedure 

• Preheat oven to 375F
• Remove the core and leaves from the cauliflower 
• Thoroughly wash the cauliflower with cool water to remove any dirt or bugs inside and pat dry
• coat with oil and a generous amount of salt on the bottom and top
• Remove the skin from the onions and cut in half, along with the garlic and lemons.
• In a cold pan place the cauliflower in the center and surround it with the aromatics. 
• Season the aromatics with salt and another drizzle of oil 
• Cover the pan with foil and roast for 30 min. 
• After 30 minutes increase the oven to 450F, remove the foil, add the last ¼C of oil and baste the cauliflower. 
• Place back in the oven for another 10 min, then baste again. 
• Repeat this step two more times for a total of 30 minutes. 
• When done, place the cauliflower on a stack of towels to drain excess oil.
• Save the garlic, onions, and lemon. 
• Serve with accompaniments of your choice. 

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One of my favorite things to do in the kitchen is switching up how I prepare ingredients. This roasted cauliflower head is a great example. It brings a new eating experience to cauliflower and is oh so visually pleasing. It can work great as a centerpiece on a table or even a stunning side dish. The portioning is also super easy since you can just cut yourself a slice. The white center and the outer browned outer side also give a striking visual contrast.

Easy prep

One of the great things about this preparation is that there’s not too much prep work with the cauliflower. We’re forgoing the extra knife work and plopping the whole thing into the pan with a load of aromatics. There’s not too much to think about and stand over. It’s like set it and baste it every once in a while. This recipe works great for when you have several other things to make for lunch or dinner. Most of the cooking time is in the oven so there’s a bit of free time to work on other projects while the cauliflower is roasting away. 

Roasted cauliflower head and friends

You may have noticed that besides the aromatics there aren’t any other seasonings in this recipe and that’s by design. This recipe can be a blank canvas for whatever other flavoring and ingredients you want to bring to the prep table. You can easily swap out the aromatics for whatever you want. Ginger, lemongrass, and garlic with a bit of thai chili could make something incredible. You can even go an Indian route and season the cauliflower head with Tumeric and masala. The bottom line, we have a world of creative directions to take this base recipe.

Along with the cauliflower, a world of accompaniments are at our disposal. The leftover pan and oil are perfect for roasting potatoes or other veggies. Essentially it becomes a super aromatic infused oil. Serving this cauliflower with curry gravy and rice or even hummus and bread are both really tasty options as well. Even though a universe of creative options exist, simply eating the cauliflower with the leftover garlic, onion, and lemon is great. Recently I made this dish with coconut oil and served it with hummus. The combo couldn’t have been better. Lucky for you, I have a bomb hummus recipe here on the blog. 

Easy Homemade Hummus

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Next time you end up with one give this roasted cauliflower head a shot. The recipe can be a side or a main dish and is versatile. It’s not too hard and lends a tasty cauliflower head that is tender but still has some bite and texture to it. As always, thanks for stopping by the blog, and happy basting.