This is a wonderful easy to make Italian cauliflower recipe that will certainly help reshape some of the perceptions that this under-appreciated vegetable tends to have. Yes, I’m guilty!
What is cauliflower and how do you roast it?
Cauliflower is a part of the broccoli family, that’s why they look so much alike.
Cauliflower gets such a bad name, but it truly shouldn’t. It is high in vitamin C, B-6, Magnesium and Potassium. Of course however the best way to get the benefits of this or most vegetables is to eat it raw.
I don’t know how much nutrition is left after roasting it as I do in this recipe, but I do know it’s still better than most snacks or prepared foods found at the grocery store. If you want to start eating healthier (even just snacks), the first place to start is in the produce section!
Cauliflower has a distinctive and strong flavor, so you want to make sure to pair it with noncompeting flavors. The recipe I am sharing is super easy and uses grated Romano Italian cheese as the accompanying flavor. If you don’t have Romano, you can use another Italian grated cheese instead. This recipe can be made as a simple snack/small dish or as a side dish to a larger meal.
You can check out my video right here and my instructions are below:
Ingredients
To start, you only need three (yes three) ingredients:
- One fresh head of cauliflower (do not use frozen)
- 3-4 Tablespoons Extra virgin olive oil
- Grated Romano (or other) Italian cheese
Instructions
- First, preheat the oven to 425F
- Cut the cauliflower into very small pieces as shown below and place in a 13×9 baking dish. (If you are not sure how best to do this, you can start by using your hands to break apart the larger “bushes” as shown below).
- Then from there use a sharp knife and cut at the root to make smaller pieces.
- Once finished, drizzle the olive oil over the cauliflower and using a spoon or your hands make sure that all the cauliflower is coated with the olive oil.
- Place in the middle rack of the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until the cauliflower is slightly tender when you pierce it with a fork. In other words, you don’t want it to be mush, but you also don’t want it to be difficult to insert a fork. If the pieces are as small as in my image and video, then you will be fine.
- At this point, remove pan from oven and take your cheese and sprinkle it all over the cauliflower and then bake for another 10 minutes or so. By now you should be really smelling the awesome aroma of the cheese and the cauliflower and it smells… mmm mmm delicioso!
- When ready, remove from oven and enjoy. You will want to keep the cauliflower warm until you are ready to serve, so turn off the oven and keep the dish in there. If concerned with overcooking, then remove from the oven until about 10 minutes before serving and place back in oven.
TIP: When done, do not cover the cauliflower tightly with foil to keep warm, this will cause the cauliflower to continue cooking and become mushy. However, what you can do is place foil loosely on top so the steam can escape.
Enjoy!
If you enjoyed this recipe, you may also enjoy our Italian Broccoli recipe or our Broccolini which are both healthy, easy and delicious!
