Roasted Cauliflower

Cauliflower is not ever something I enjoyed. Apparently a lot of other people share my lack of enthusiasm for the veggie, because when I made a huge beautiful veggie tray for my nephew’s birthday last weekend, it was one of the few things that remained untouched.

Such is life.

So, I’m back on my Whole30/Paleo kick and I’m HUNGRY. There’s a nearly full head of cauliflower in my fridge staring at me, and I can’t stand to waste it. A memory of a friend of a friend comes to mind…. She looked my way during a food discussion at a party and screeched when I told her I didn’t like it. *Ahem* Apparently… people make pizza crust with it, and it’s a big thing I’m only now learning, because – in my world – pizza is god, and you do not mess with crust, sauce, and cheese. Some people beg to differ. Savages.

CHEAT DAY WAS INVENTED FOR PIZZA, PEOPLE.

But, I digress.

If you can’t tell, I’m a little wonky and spacey and out of sorts. I don’t really feel like myself today. It’s Day 2 of eating better and this time is always the hardest for me as I come down off my sugar high. I don’t want to do anything today but space out on the couch or nap… and napping is not something I do. Therefore, you can tell how weird this is for me!

Right. Cauliflower!

So, in case you don’t already know of her, Michelle from NOMNOMPALEO.COM is the Goddess of Paleo. She has a hundred award-winning recipes for just about everything. I typed “cauliflower paleo” into my google toolbar and I found this little gem…

HUZZAH!

In reality, I cheated. A lot. And I didn’t really follow this true to form at all. But it was delicious so I want to share it anyway.

  • large cauliflower
  • ¼ cup coconut oil (I used like, a 1/2 c of olive oil by the time I was done…)
  • Kosher salt (Morton salt. Whatever, right? Same thing.)
  • ¼ cup capers, drained (I wish! I didn’t have any.)
  • ¼ cup chopped Italian parsley (I only had dried, so I sprinkled a little bit.)
  • 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced lengthwise (I used garlic powder)
  • 1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper (or red pepper flakes) (I used red cayenne pepper)
  • I added juice from a whole lemon, and pepper.

Here’s what mine ended up looking like…  (the things next to it are the jalapeno chicken sausages… I could only eat one since I ate nearly that entire plate of cauliflower!)

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Some things I’ve learned:

  • smaller the better, especially when you have no patience. The smaller pieces were softer (ergo, more delicious) than the larger ones.
  • lemon makes everything better. period.
  • i started on med/high heat (since I wasn’t using a cast-iron pan) and i think that worked out well, but i turned down the heat a bit because i didn’t want to burn them. … which walks into my next bullet…
  • i used a LOT of olive oil. I once heard someone say that if you have olive oil that goes bad, it means you’re not using enough, so i used a lot. It kept my flowers from sticking and it helped them crisp up better. Plus, you can’t go wrong with a good heart-healthy fat like that!

I’ll definitely make this again, it was a huge win for me. Do you have a good way to prepare cauliflower that you want to share? I’m looking for new ideas now!

 

One thought on “Roasted Cauliflower”

  1. sarahlappleyard says:
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    We’ve talked about roasting veggies a lot before haha so this probably won’t’ sound too new, but a great way to cut back on oil and still have great crispy but not crunchy roasted veg is to get a spray bottle for the olive oil and roast on a pan covered in tin foil. Works great. Do it at like 450 and it’s done in no time. Also, less oil means no sogginess, which is something I hate. What you made sounds delicious! I also use garlic powder and usually onion powder as well and then salt and pepper. Never thought to squeeze lemon or put capers, going to have to do that next time!

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