I will admit, I’m not the best when it comes to eating vegetables. Oh yes I know, their good for you and all. I make my dad eat them and my family but personally, give me meat and I’m happy. So when I come across a recipe that satisfies my inner-meatie(?), I want to share it with you. It’s not new and I certainly didn’t invent it but this steak, cut from a cauliflower, is really good. So do give it a try!
When you make this, you will have a couple – maybe 3 nice steaks, about 1/2″ – 3/4″ thick, and a whole bunch of falling apart florets. To minimize the smaller pieces, break the leaves and greenery off the cauliflower and just trim it to the bottom. Don’t cut the core of the cauliflower out as it holds the larger branches in place. With the smaller crumbling pieces just continue to chop them up and add it to the sauce that will accompany this steak. So good and so tasty!
1 large Cauliflower, cut into 1/2 – 3/4″ thick slices, save larger florets that might have fallen apart from cutting the steaks aside, but chop any smaller florets
4 large ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
1/4 cup small capers
12 large caper berries
2 anchovies
12 garlic cloves – whole
6 garlic cloves – mashed
8 – 10 Padron Chilies, chopped (these aren’t hot, really, but very flavorful)
1 cup water or vegetable stock
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
Preheat the oven to 400F
Over a medium flame, heat up a large skillet
In a small bowl, combine 3 tablespoons of oil with half the mashed garlic, some salt and pepper – mix well
Using a brush, paint one side of the cauliflower steak with the oil/garlic mixture and put it in the hot pan
continue with the other slices fitting as many as you can into the pan
paint the tops of the cauliflower steaks with the remaining mixture – you might have to do this in batches depending on the size of the cauliflower and the size of your pan
Turn the pieces over and continue to fry until caramelized on both sides – remove to a foil lined baking tray that has been lightly brushed/sprayed with oil
When all the pieces are done, place them in the oven for 15 minutes or until tender
In the mean time, add some olive oil to the pan along with the remaining mashed garlic and sauté, add the anchovies and stir to dissolve, add the cauliflower and stir for about 2 minutes, add the tomatoes and stir, add the whole garlic and stir – add the small capers to the pan, stir – then add 1 cup of water to the pan, reduce the heat to low and simmer for the remainder of the time left on the oven – add the larger caper berries to the mixture just as the oven timer sets off – stir them into the sauce – taste, season and taste again
Carefully remove the cauliflower steaks from the oven and place them in the tomato sauce mixture, spoon the sauce over the cauliflower – simmer for 1 – 2 minutes to allow the flavors to be absorbed by the cauliflower
Remove the cauliflower to plates and serve hot or warm with some crusty French or Italian bread
As always – enjoy!
