Roasted Cauliflower with Parmesan
Let me tell you a story about a cauliflower. It was a sad and depressed cauliflower, who lived in the back of the fridge, and was quite neglected, much like its cousins living in other refrigerators, in other houses in other cities. Despite its inoffensive flavour and nutritional benefits, no one much liked it. Few people disliked it, mind you, but no one truly loved it.
Then one day, it got together with some oil and Parmesan cheese, and peoples’ opinions of it changed. It made a lot of friends. People started to see its delicious potential. And it moved up from the back of the fridge to one of the penthouse drawers up front, and hardly ever saw the inside of the compost bin again. The end.
If you want to rekindle your relationship with the cauliflower in the back of your fridge – get to know it better, even fall in love with it – break it into florets and spread it out on a baking sheet.
Drizzle it with oil – olive or canola – sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss it about with your hands.
Roast it at 425F for about 10 minutes, until it’s starting to sizzle and turn golden. Take it out, toss it a bit and shower it with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
Slide it back into the oven for another 10 minutes or so, or until the cheese melts and the edges of the cauliflower are good and golden.
If you have a few lime wedges sitting around from those G&Ts you were so enamoured with last night, a squeeze overtop is not a bad thing.
I’ll leave you alone with your cauliflower now.
alright, so i know and love roasted cauli, deeply, madly. but with parm?! dang. brilliant.
This is a great post…it made me giggle. I really enjoy your down-to-earth writing style. Liked the last one on steak as well, especially the comment on Ponderosa. As a Canadian living in the States, your blog feels so home-y to me and comments like that take me back to my childhood in Peterborough when Ponderosa was the only steak place in town.
This is the only way I’ve cooked cauliflower for a few years now. I’ve always used lemon though, not lime, and now can’t wait to try it with lime. I could eat a whole head myself, roasted this way.
My family & the cauliflower in the fridge thank you. 🙂
I love roasted cauliflower. I’ve converted a few friends into cauliflower lovers! I usually do it with Parmesan, but sometimes added buttered breadcrumbs and capers in the last few minutes of roasting. Yum!
Cauliflower is not your favorite vegetable?! I do love it roasted plain and I should try spicing it up with parmesan–or breadcrumbs and capers! But my current favorite is the smoky cauliflower frittata from the Plenty cookbook: http://emmycooks.com/2012/02/06/smoky-cauliflower-frittata/ Sometimes I have to buy two heads of cauliflower at a time so I have enough to do both.
I love a happy ending! I’ll have to try the parm. I usually use cumin seeds and ground coriander for seasoning.
I love cauliflower, so you don’t have to entice me with the recipe, but I am enticed nevertheless 🙂
I sprinkle a touch of homemade madras curry powder on mine, and garnish with a little cilantro + spicy havarti.
I. Love. Cauliflower.
It gets no respect…kinda like Brussels sprouts!
You’re right!!
And I love that you can spell Brussels sprouts!
Cauliflower is one of my favourite vegetables. I’ll have to try this – I already love it mashed with Parmesan, so why not this?
Its also a great sub for mashed potatoes when you are trying to watch the waistline lol. Boil till soft and mash it with a little salt and pepper, and no guilt eat as much as you like. Will have to try it a sprinkle of parmesan now sounds really good.
Thanks for a great post. I love cauliflower – at the grocery store. It is so pretty and perfect and full of possibilities. Then I get home, put it in my fridge, and peak at it now and then, trying to figure out what to do with it. I leave it there until it is mushy and moldy, at which point I feel terribly guilty and compost it. I even vowed to never buy cauliflower again. But maybe I will give it one last try….. 🙂
I have always liked cauliflower and this one looks delicious. Cheese makes everything so much better.
Ooh this looks like a good way to eat it.
My favorite method is the way my mom sometimes makes it – par boil the cauliflower florets, then dip in an egg mixture (egg, milk, salt pepper) and fry until the egg is cooked. Yum.
My mom has also recently started roasting it with a combination of oil, turmeric and curry leaves. I can’t remember the exact recipe – I’d have to ask. It’s one from the Globe that she modified to make easier and it’s super yummy.
I looove cauliflower and love roasting it but haven’t tried adding cheese then baking it again. I’ll have to try it because it looks so good!
Great recipe! I absolutely LOVE roasted cauliflower, it’s got a filling meatyness to it that other vegetables don’t have. You pictures look delish!
This looks really good. Also good is roasted cualiflower put in a baking dish and covered with cheese sauce made preferably with parmesan and jarlsberg(cheese bechamel??), topped with dried breadcrumbs (panko if you like), dotted with butter and baked until it has some patches of brown. Just cauliflower cheese but so delicious.
Just have to say, I am obsessed with roasting cauliflower and have tried it with the parm once a long time ago and loved it, and loving that others share my love for it! Now, I’m even more obsessed with mixing equal parts balsamic and oil with a bit of garlic and salt, tossing it with the cauliflower then roasting it. It’s absolutely amazing, I’ll sit there and eat the entire head of cauliflower for a dinner.
Just made it…loved it ! I pinned this on pinterest, too. Thanks so much for sharing with us.