It isn't going too far to say this recipe will change your life utterly, no, really. Once you have tried this recipe there is no going back, you will be bulk buying cauliflower just so you can have this every night. Say goodbye to cauliflower with a cheesie sauce, it is a poor, poor relation to oven roasted cauliflower.
Please consider this recipe to be more of a technique, rather than a hard and fast stipulation of the quantities required. Personal taste will determine how much salt, olive oil and garlic you want for a given quantity of cauliflower. Make it once, see how it goes and then adjust quantities for the next time.
Preparation time is only 5-10 minutes, and cooking time between 45-60 minutes.
Really easy to make and delicious; what more do you want?
Sliced cauliflower florets
Ingredients
These are the minimum quantities of oil, garlic and salt I would use for a large cauliflower.
Ingredients | Quantity |
|---|---|
Cauliflower | 1 large |
Olive oil | 4 tbsp |
Garlic | 4 cloves |
Salt | 1/4tsp |
Sliced cauliflower florets in a heat proof dish
Equipment required
- Hot oven (at least 200°C)
- Heatproof dish, ideally glass or ceramic
- Medium sized mixing bowl
- Sharp knife
- Skewer
Method
- Start preheating your oven to at least 200°C.
- Peel off the outer leaves of the cauliflower and remove any blemishes on the florets.
- Cut off the individual florets from the cauliflower stem.
- Slice the florets into 1cm thick slices (as shown in the first photo above). The actual thickness isn't too important, just make sure they are all the same thickness, as that determines the cooking time.
- Wash the sliced florets but don't bother drying them as the water aids the cooking process.
- Place the florets in a mixing bowl and pour over the olive oil.
- Peel the garlic cloves and remove any blemishes. Cut the garlic into 3-4mm thick slices.
- Add the garlic to the bowl and throughly mix the contents.
- Tip the bowl contents into the heatproof dish and distribute the cauliflower evenly (as shown in the second photo above).
- Place your cauliflower in the middle shelf of the oven. Do not cover the dish. Set a timer for 30 minutes, as a reminder to check progress.
- After the 30 minutes, remove the dish from the oven and check the florets. If any are looking brown already, you may need to turn them over. If any have inadvertently been covered and look white, expose them. Test a few florets with a skewer to determine if they are nearly cooked. A fully cooked floret will squash slightly when pressed with the skewer. Depending on your oven temperature and the thickness of the florets they may need another 15-30 minutes cooking.
Oven roasted cauliflower - the finished dish
Oven roasted cauliflower is delicious served with just about anything. Enjoy!
Notes
- Don't throw away the cauliflower leaves and stem, you can eat them too.
- I have tried using other oils (e.g. dripping) but the olive oil and garlic combination can't be beaten.
- Any leftover cauliflower can be re-heated and eaten the next day. They're really nice eaten cold, too.