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Whole Roasted Baby Cauliflower

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This simple, Whole Roasted Baby Cauliflower is perfectly charred on the outside and tender in the middle. Made with just four ingredients – salted water, extra-virgin olive oil, coarse sea salt—and cauliflower.

This simple, Whole Roasted Baby Cauliflower is perfectly charred on the outside and tender in the middle. Made with just four ingredients – salted water, extra-virgin olive oil, coarse sea salt—and cauliflower.
Whole Roasted Baby Cauliflower

If you’ve ever had the “World Famous” Roasted Baby Cauliflower from Miznon, in Chelsea Market you’ll thank me! So simple and delicious as a side, appetizer or vegetarian/vegan main dish.

This simple, Whole Roasted Baby Cauliflower is perfectly charred on the outside and tender in the middle. Made with just four ingredients – salted water, extra-virgin olive oil, coarse sea salt—and cauliflower.This simple, Whole Roasted Baby Cauliflower is perfectly charred on the outside and tender in the middle. Made with just four ingredients – salted water, extra-virgin olive oil, coarse sea salt—and cauliflower.

I took a trip into NYC a few weeks ago with my friend Heather for recipe inspiration. One of our stops was Chelsea Market. We heard great things about Miznon, an Israeli restaurant and it didn’t disappoint. As we stood on line trying to figure out what to get, we saw this beautiful, whole roasted baby cauliflower come out. Knowing we’d be sampling lots of food we knew we wanted to try it (among other things!). It was perfectly tender, you didn’t even need a knife or fork to cut it. We just pulled it apart with our hands! They have tahini sauce and a spicy green salsa as condiments so we dipped the cauliflower in and enjoyed, although it’s perfect on it’s own.

We asked the chef how he prepared it, and he was most generous in sharing. Most roasted cauliflower recipes I’ve tried usually had the same issue, they’d be great on the outside, but slightly uncooked on the inside. By boiling it first in salted water, then brushing it with olive oil and sea salt after with a quick roast at a high temperature, the cauliflower comes out creamy, golden and delicious.

I made this for friends as an appetizer, and like they do at Miznon, put it into the middle of the table for everyone to share and break apart. Added some tahini (affil link) for dipping, everyone loved it! If you like it spicy, try it with this spicy green hot sauce.

Notes:

If you want to serve this as a vegetarian main dish, serve it for two people with pita and tahini.

Boil this with plenty of water in a large pot and salt it, like you would salt pasta water.

Boiling cauliflower in a large pot.Brushing cauliflower with olive oil.This simple, Whole Roasted Baby Cauliflower is perfectly charred on the outside and tender in the middle. Made with just four ingredients – salted water, extra-virgin olive oil, coarse sea salt—and cauliflower.This simple, Whole Roasted Baby Cauliflower is perfectly charred on the outside and tender in the middle. Made with just four ingredients – salted water, extra-virgin olive oil, coarse sea salt—and cauliflower.

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Whole Roasted Baby Cauliflower

4.77 from 26 votes
1
Cals:46.5
Protein:1.5
Carbs:3.5
Fat:3.5
This simple, Whole Roasted Baby Cauliflower is perfectly charred on the outside and tender in the middle. Made with just four ingredients – salted water, extra-virgin olive oil, coarse sea salt—and cauliflower.
Course: Appetizer, Side Dish
Cuisine: American, Israeli
This simple, Whole Roasted Baby Cauliflower is perfectly charred on the outside and tender in the middle. Made with just four ingredients – salted water, extra-virgin olive oil, coarse sea salt—and cauliflower.
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 40 minutes
Total: 45 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Serving Size: 1 /4 cauliflower head

Ingredients

  • 1 small head cauliflower with leaves
  • 2 gallons water
  • 1/4 cup course sea salt or kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoons best-quality extra-virgin olive oil, divided
  • serve with tahini, optional

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 550°F with oven rack in center of oven. Trim stem of cauliflower, keeping leaves intact, so it will sit level on a sheet pan.
  • Bring 2 gallons water to a boil in a large pot over high heat. Stir in salt until dissolved.
  • Add the cauliflower, placing something over the cauliflower to keep it submerged.
  • Boil until very tender, 12 to 13 minutes.
  • Carefully lift the cauliflower from water and drain. Transfer to the sheet pan, stem side down.
  • Use a brush and brush the cauliflower with olive oil all over. Sprinkle remaining sea salt and bake in preheated oven until browned, about 25 to 35 minutes.
  • Broil 2 minutes. Serve hot.

Last Step:

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Nutrition

Serving: 1 /4 cauliflower head, Calories: 46.5 kcal, Carbohydrates: 3.5 g, Protein: 1.5 g, Fat: 3.5 g, Saturated Fat: 0.5 g, Sodium: 600 mg, Fiber: 1.5 g, Sugar: 1.5 g

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