Roasted Cauilflower

Over the past year, cauliflower has experienced a revival of sorts and the campaign has been driven by vegan enthusiasts. I am not vegan; heck I avoided cauliflower for decades. Although I am curious as to what textures are attributed to this vegetable. It's been picked up by wheat-free eaters as a replacement for pizza dough (Rachel Ray's cauliflower pizza dough); to replace rice as a side dish (Jamie Oliver's cauliflower risotto); and as mock mashed potatoes. Flavor-wise, eating cauliflower is like eating white bread and isn't substantial on its own. But when paired with other ingredients then the spotlight appears.

Take this recipe for example. All the flavor of the dish comes from the olive oil and the nutritional yeast. The salt and pepper remind you that there's a vegetable hiding under all the mock cheesy flavor brought on by the yeast. If you take all that away, these are just baked cauliflower florets; and that is a sight sadder than seeing people eat cauliflower mashed potatoes because they want to consume fewer carbs.

Roasted Cauliflower: start to finish

The majority of the calories in this dish comes from how much olive oil you use to dip the florets before dipping into the nutritional yeast. One cup of olive oil has roughly 1,900 calories. The original ingredient ratio called for more salt (1/2 tsp salt was still too much); and I used a lot more than 1/4 c olive oil. The majority of the calories of this dish comes from oil (aka fat). A large cauliflower head is about 146 calories; that is, if you consume the inner stalk as well. The first pass of this recipe made the kitchen smell really good; but the florets came out soggy and not crunchy.

Ingredients

1 medium organic cauliflower head
1/2 c nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 c extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

1. Use a sharp knife and cut the florets off the stalk. Set aside.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together yeast, salt, and black pepper.

3. Have the olive oil in another small bowl.

4. Dip each floret into the oil, but do not submerse it and then dip it into the nutritional yeast. Place in a single layer on a glass baking dish. 

5. Bake for 50 minutes, until browned. Serve hot.

Enjoy.

P.S. There is no "mock cheese" flavor by using nutritional yeast; although, it is an interesting addition.