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I am really excited to share this recipe with you because my taste buds instantly fell in love with the flavor combination in this Roasted Cauliflower recipe, which makes me believe that your taste buds will do the same thing.
A good word that comes to mind when I think of this recipe is envy because if I had this Roasted Cauliflower {Inspired by Girl and the Goat, by the way} on my plate, and you didn’t, you’d be envious.
Envious like I am of Lila and Mali (my ridiculously spoiled, cute little dogs)….
Not to change the subject or anything, but would you like to know why I am envious of my dogs? Last week they had their yearly check-up at the vet. You know how that goes, right? Weight check, shots, all that good stuff? I’m not envious of the shots, of course, but here’s where the envy comes in….
The Doc does his thing, listens to their hearts, feels around for anything abnormal, and then he declared that….
Lila and Mali are both (slightly) UNDERWEIGHT and need to eat MORE.
Do you get where I’m going with this one? Do you ever wish your doctor would declare you are underweight and suggest you eat more? Usually pet owners are faced with the opposite! So, per doctor’s orders, we are trying to get them to eat more. I say try because I think I own the only dogs in the world that don’t have a voracious appetite!
Back to this Roasted Cauliflower. Last summer I shared this Roasted Cauliflower “Popcorn” recipe with you. It is a fantastic recipe that always earns rave reviews . When Ryan and I finally made it to Girl and the Goat (you can read about that here) and I saw roasted cauliflower on their menu, there was no question, I knew I had to try it. I know it is just cauliflower, but it ended up being one of my favorite things that we tried that night and I vowed to come home and try to make something similar.
It’s been a few months since our fabulous dining experience at Girl and the Goat, so I decided it was about time that I try to come up with a recipe similar to what we had. One major difference between the Roasted Cauliflower I make, and the Goat’s version is that theirs was thinly sliced, a method I hadn’t tried before. It also had little bursts of flavor from ingredients like pickled peppers, mint, and pine nuts. Perhaps it sounds like an odd combination of flavors, but it totally rocked my world.
Because I adore basil, especially this time of year, I decided to swap out the mint and replace it with basil. And in place of pine nuts, I used almonds. One of the key aspects of this recipe is the “crunch butter” that the cauliflower gets tossed with. Crunch butter is simply butter, garlic, parmesan cheese, and panko bread crumbs. It’s a simple combination of ingredients, but it works perfectly in this recipe! Just note, you will have extra crunch butter which I like to toss in with any veggie recipes I’m making for the week.
While this recipe takes slightly more time than I typically like to spend on a side dish, I assure you that it is worth it! And of course, I must also mention that if you live in the Chicagoland area, or ever find yourself visiting here, you must make yourself a reservation at Girl and the Goat. Stephanie Izard who won the fourth season of Top Chef, is the owner and she is just amazing!
If you are looking for more tasty, flavorful ways to incorporate cauliflower into your meal planning, definitely give this recipe a try.
CRUNCH BUTTER INGREDIENTS
- 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
- 2-3 garlic cloves, grated
- 1/4 cup fresh parmesan cheese, grated
- 3 tablespoons panic bread crumbs (Japanese style bread crumbs)
CAULIFLOWER INGREDIENTS
- 4 cups cauliflower, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons crunch butter
- 1 tablespoon almonds, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup banana peppers, chopped
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, finely grated (I use a microplane grater for this)
- 1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
GARNISH INGREDIENTS
- 2 teaspoon almonds, finely chopped
- Sprinkle of parmesan cheese
- 2 teaspoons fresh basil, chopped
DIRECTIONS
- In a medium sized bowl, use a spatula to combine all of the ingredients for the crunch butter. You can use a hand mixer if you’d like. As long as the butter is room temperature, you should be able to just use a spatula to combine the ingredients. Set aside.
- Heat 2 tablespoons canola oil over medium high heat in a large skillet with a tight fitting lid. When the oil is nice and hot, add in cauliflower. Do not do a lot of stirring. Allow the cauliflower to cook on one side. When it is caramelized, use a spoon to stir the cauliflower so that the other side can caramelize. When the cauliflower has a nice brown color to it (refer to images above), season it with 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Add more to taste if needed.
- Reduce the heat to low, add in 2 tablespoons of water, cover the pan and continue to cook the cauliflower until it is fork tender.
- Stir in 1 tablespoon finely chopped almonds, 2 tablespoons crunch butter (more if desired), chopped banana peppers, 1/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese, and 1 tablespoon fresh basil.
- Pour into a serving dish and garnish with 2 additional teaspoons finely chopped almonds, a sprinkle of parmesan cheese, and 2 additional teaspoons of basil.
- Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
Recipe adapted from
Food.com and Inspired by Girl and the Goat
