I love cauliflower (Dr. B says, “Melissa never met a vegetable she didn’t like”). Ha, he’s right! I make a variety of delicious recipes using this vegetable. Cauliflower is very low-cal … a whole medium head is only 146 calories for goodness sake! It is rich in protein (11 grams), loaded with vitamin C, Iron, B-6, calcium, potassium and magnesium. The grocery stores are selling cauliflower in a variety of forms … cauliflower rice, cauliflower tots, and cauliflower pizza crust (see my recipe for this).
Cauliflower has a purple variety called Colorful Harvest Purple Cauliflower, equally as nutritious and versatile, that can be used in so many creative recipes and it tastes the same. When we were in Lake Tahoe, I first tasted cauliflower with a Romesco sauce chopped, served as cold salad. I just loved the flavors together. I came home and began to research the ingredients of the Romesco sauce since I had never tasted or made it before. My search revealed many recipes with slight variations. I hope you enjoy my adapted Power of 5 Test Kitchen Recipe as much as we do!
To healthy eating!
Melissa
Roasted Cauliflower Steaks with Romesco Sauce
Ingredients
Roasted Cauliflower Steaks
- 1 med/large head cauliflower head Wash & slice vertically into four 1-1 1/2" thick steaks
- 2 tbsp. Sunflower or Vegetable oil
- Coarse sea salt
- Ground Pepper
- Onion powder
- Fresh parsley Garnish on the top
- 2 tbsp. Pine nuts toasted
- 1-1/2 tbsp. Raisins Golden or regular
Romesco Sauce
- 1/4 cup Almonds blanched and toasted
- 1/8 tsp Cayenne pepper
- 1 med Garlic clove crushed well
- 1 tsp Smoked Paprika Also called pimenton
- 3 Red bell peppers Roasted
- 1 tbsp Tomato Paste
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp Wine vinegar
Instructions
Cauliflower Steak
- Preheat oven to roast or bake at 425 degrees. Wash and trim leaves off cauliflower, slice off bottom keeping core intact. Stand up and slice vertically into 4 thick slices.
- Cover a rimmed baking sheet with the sunflower oil, then layer the steaks on the pan, season lightly with sea salt, ground pepper, and onion powder. Place in the preheated oven. Roast for 10 minutes in the center of the oven, then gently turn over and roast for another 10 minutes until tender but still firm, looking nice and brown, even crispy.
Sauce
- Place the red peppers on an oiled rimmed baking sheet lined with tin foil under the broiler, turning often until blackened and blistered. Remove from oven and bring up the tin foil you laid on the pan around to cover the red peppers. Let them sit in the foil for 15 minutes. Remove skins, stems and seeds, discard.
- Using a food processor (or a Magic Bullet® type blender), place the roasted red peppers, then add garlic, almonds, wine vinegar, tomato paste, and smoked paprika. Pulse until combined. Let the machine run, slowly adding oil, processing until combined. Season with salt. If it is too thick, you can add a little water to get to the consistency you desire.
- Now it's time to put it all together: spread the plate with the romesco sauce, place the roasted cauliflower steak on top of the sauce, sprinkle with the toasted pine nuts, raisins and garnish with sprigs of parsley. Serve and enjoy this flavorful dish!
