Fancy perking up your weeknight dinner? These cauliflower steaks just might be your answer. Substituting grains and meats for cauliflower seems to be all the rage right now, so I had to try my hand at it. You treat it exactly the way you would a piece of meat—say beef or chicken—seared on a hot griddle pan and then finished off in the oven.
The first time I made these I cooked the cauliflower steaks entirely on the pan (covering and cooking with stock until tender). Only problem with this method is that there is a chance of it overcooking and falling apart (speaking from experience). Cooking the steaks in the oven is a more reliable method to get them perfectly al-dente and this is what I would recommend here; it’s foolproof and also saves you the trouble of hovering over the pan constantly.
The roasted pepper sauce sits well in the refrigerator for a couple of days, meaning: make a bigger batch than you would need and you can rustle this dinner up in less than fifteen minutes! It’s also glorious tossed with pasta (with a dash of milk or cream), or as a dipping sauce with crudités, meats or toasted bread. So again, make a huge batch.
If you’re like me and live with a vegetarian in the house—or happen to be one yourself—this dish makes for a really hearty meal in itself. I know, when I came across the concept I thought it to be a little pretentious (fake steaks, pfft), and even made a salad on the side thinking it wouldn’t be enough for a main meal. Who knew cauliflower could be so meaty and substantial! However, I must point out here that most recipes I looked up used a whole head of cauliflower to serve four people. This makes sense to me only if this dish forms a part of a three-course meal or if the people in question don’t have as voracious an appetite as I do. As a general rule, I always make more quantity than what a recipe instructs. I’m glad I followed that principle here because I think we ended up eating the whole head of cauliflower between the two of us, bits and all.
| Servings |
2
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- 1 large head of cauliflower
- 3/4 cup vegetable stock
- 200 grams spinach leaves
- 2 tbsp olive oil (plus 1 tbsp for spinach)
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Salt, to taste
- 1 red pepper
- 1/2 an onion, finely chopped
- 1/2 a tomato, finely chopped
- 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Salt, to taste
Ingredients
Red pepper sauce:
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- Preheat oven to 180 C (360 F).
- Sauté spinach leaves in a little olive oil until they wilt. Season with salt and pepper and set aside. Reserve the pan.
- Heat olive oil in the same pan and sauté onions and garlic until translucent. Add tomatoes, salt, and pepper and cook on a high heat until tomatoes soften, about 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a blender jar and set aside to cool slightly.
- Place the pepper directly on the open flame of a gas stove. Roast until it blisters and chars on all sides, rotating occasionally with tongs. Place pepper in a zip-lock bag or glass bowl covered with cling film and let it sit for 5 minutes.
- Take the pepper out and peel away the charred skin; slit lengthwise and remove seeds. Transfer the fleshy bits to the blender jar along with the onions, tomatoes, garlic and extra virgin olive oil and blend to a coarse purée. Season with pepper and salt and set aside. [This sauce can be made earlier and refrigerated until ready to use.]
- Remove the outer leaves of the cauliflower keeping the core intact. Place it core side down on your work surface and using a large knife, slice the cauliflower into 4 thick ‘steaks’ of about 1” each starting from the center. [You will have small bits breaking off in the process. Save these and any remaining cauliflower for another recipe, like a stir fry.]
- Heat a large griddle pan (or regular pan) until very hot. Brush the cauliflower steaks with olive oil and place on the pan, grilling for 2-3 minutes per side. Transfer to a flat baking tray and lay them out in an even layer without overlapping them. Ladle a little of the stock over each steak and season with salt and pepper. Roast until tender but still holding its shape, about 10-15 minutes. [A good test is to stick a knife in the center of the cauliflower. You want it to go through without too much resistance.]
- Divide red pepper sauce among plates. Place 1 or 2 cauliflower steaks on each plate with wilted spinach on the side. Serve warm or at room temperature.
* Adapted from BBC Good Food
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