Farm Fresh: Humble cauliflower roasts to aromatic perfection

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Farm Fresh: Humble cauliflower roasts to aromatic perfection

Thursday, September 09, 1999

Tested by Betsy Kline

Looking ahead to the cool, crisp days of fall already, here's a recipe that heats up the kitchen. It's a delicious quick-roast preparation of cauliflower, a much-neglected, vitamin-packed vegetable.

The fresh oregano is what makes this side dish stand out. And the roasting technique lends a sweetness to a normally bland vegetable.

Roasted Cauliflower

We agreed with the author of this Kitchen Gardener magazine article on roasted vegetables: This was probably the tastiest cauliflower we've ever had.

1 cauliflower head Zest and juice of half a lemon 1/2 cup olive or vegetable oil (we used olive) Leaves from 3 sprigs fresh oregano 1 teaspoon coarse salt (we used kosher, but you can use medium sea salt) Freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Remove the outer leaves from the cauliflower and cut the head into manageable pieces, then into 1/4-inch slices.

In a medium bowl, mix the lemon zest and juice, oil, oregano, salt and pepper. Add cauliflower and toss until well coated. Spread evenly on a baking sheet.

Roast in the oven for about 12 minutes, until the cauliflower softens and browns around the edges. (We roasted it for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, to get it evenly browned.) Makes 8 servings.

Kitchen Gardener magazine, April/May 1999