Grilled Cauliflower Steak with Roasted Tomatoes
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Happiness to me if finding ways to prepare food in five minutes or less and still eat like a queen. Grilled cauliflower steak with roasted tomatoes is double happiness. It requires very little prep time, and yields almost zero waste. It’s nearly shameless to give a recipe for it, but I would be more shameful keeping this great idea to myself.
A friend suggested this idea to me, as she is eating more vegetarian these days. I’m a big meat eater, but I’m an even bigger vegetable eater. I know I eat more vegetables than the average person, a lot more. On Election night, I thought it was going to be a nail biter and it was for some of us. Instead of snacking on a big bag of chips, I roasted cauliflower and in my excitement, I ate the whole head. . Of course, I didn’t eat anything else. That was dinner, which left me full with no guilt and lots of cancer fighting health benefits.
I know you know that fresh vegetables are the true “make a body good” food group, but I like to remind you of this. In weeks in which I eat nearly crazy amounts of vegetables, I can honestly report to you a heightened feeling of wellness and energy. Of all the foods I prepare, if I could leave you with anything, it would be to inspire you to eat vegetables, lots of them, every day and love every bite, to the point of having cravings, cravings that take you to the store at odd hours.
Grilled cauliflower steak with roasted tomatoes is a bit like Cinderella. It’s white, bland, and just not the prettiest vegetable in the produce aisle. It often goes unnoticed as the more beautiful broccoli is chosen. When it does get picked, it gets treated like the unloved stepsister, drenched in yucky cheese sauce or deep fried, all attempts to disguise it. But, like Cinderella, all it needs is the right accessories. Brushed with olive oil, sprinkled with salt and perhaps a few chili flakes, it is transformed from a mere side dish to the main attraction.
The cauliflower is cut in one inch slices to make cauliflower steaks. They are brushed with olive oil, spices, salt and pepper and grilled. If it’s too cold to grill where you live, you can roast the steaks in the oven. I added in roasted grape tomatoes for color and simplicity, and finished off with an optional shaving of pecorino cheese. You can play around with this idea, adding in your own spices, olives, capers, etc. Just don’t over cook. That has always been Cauliflower’s biggest enemy. It often doesn’t look as done as it is, so roast all the pieces, even the small ones that fall off when you slice through it, and taste those. Those will get done a little faster, but not by much.
Tell me, do you eat lots of vegetables and have you ever eaten a vegetable as your main course?
This will be one of the entries for the Red to Remember cooking event for World AIDS Day.
Grilled Cauliflower Steak with Roasted Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- dash of red chili flakes
- sea salt pepper
- grape or cherry tomatoes
Instructions
- Slice cauliflower from top to bottom in one inch thick slices
- Mix olive oil with red chili flakes
- Brush both sides of cauliflower
- Season with salt and pepper
- Place on hot grill, turn grill to medium heat
- Cook for ten minutes.
- Turn over, grill for ten more minutes.
- If roasting in oven, roast in shallow baking dish at 375. You may need to increase cooking time.
- Toss tomatoes with a little bit of olive oil.
- Roast tomatoes in oven for ten minutes.
- Assemble cauliflower and tomatoes on plate. Serve immediately.
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Great idea. Thanksk for linking up with Food on Friday. Cheers
I was just going through your blog…oh my god this sounds so good. I am bookmarking this one:).Thanks for sharing so a lovely recipe:)
Wow… would never have thought to prepare it this way.. nice idea!
I love this! Cauliflower is my favourite veggie, and this looks like a great new way to enjoy it! (Love your husband’s comment too :))
love this idea! and you are definitely right…when i eat more fruits and vegetables it really affects me emotionally. and usually when i’m down if i think back over what i ate that day, i can tell why!
What a great way to eat cauliflower! I will definitely be trying this!
Simply Delicious!
I have been so planning to cook Cauliflower this way after seeing it in a magazine roasted and grilled…steaks! You have done it and it looks so like what I want to eat right now for dinner. Maybe later this week? Thanks for the recipe. T
This looks simple and delicious! A winning combo 🙂
So pretty when it’s cut like this! Great idea, and the grill marks give a nice visual appeal.
I make a similar dish, but I also caramelize the tomatoes (either cherry, or regular diced), and some diced onion, and right at the end, add some crispy smashed croutons – toss together, and enjoy! It’s a variation of a common Italian way to have this dish, with the bread added. But using croutons, smashing them a bit and keeping them mostly crunchy gives a wonderful flavor and texture.
Yes, I love veggies – more than I do meat – and especially if they’re paired with a starch like rice or pasta. Tonight I had a very well-seasoned bowl of brown rice, brussels sprouts and mushrooms.
I haven’t tried this method for cauliflower but I know I would love it. How about a little parmigiana on top too?
I love cauliflower, and preparing them as steaks is wonderful way to show them off – especially on the grill
I’ve never hated cauliflower. If it was served to me in a salad or mixed with Broccoli or however, I would eat it. But I’ve never loved it either. Cauliflower was never a vegetable I craved or would order in a restaurant or ask ST to prepare for dinner…. that is until now. I was walking through the kitchen as these came out of the oven and ST said, here, try this. I popped a piece in my mouth and it stopped me in my tracks. WOW, that was GREAT….. can I have some more please? I am already craving it. Sweetheart, do you think we could have some cauliflower for dinner tonight?
Oh yeah baby…I agree…
Brilliant, just brilliant! Thanks 🙂