WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS When you cook thick slabs of cauliflower as vegetarian “steaks,” they develop a substantial, meaty texture and become nutty, sweet, and caramelized. Recipes for cauliflower steaks abound, but many involve fussy transitions between stovetop and oven. To find a simple way to produce four perfectly cooked cauliflower steaks simultaneously, we opted for a rimmed baking sheet and a scorching oven. Steaming the cauliflower briefly by covering the baking sheet with foil, followed by high-heat uncovered roasting on the lowest oven rack, produced dramatic-looking, caramelized seared steaks with tender interiors. To elevate the cauliflower to centerpiece status, we paired it with a vibrant Italian-style salsa verde—a blend of parsley, mint, capers, olive oil, and white wine vinegar. Brushing the hot steaks with the salsa verde ensured they’d soak up all of its robust flavor.
Serves 4
Total time: 40 minutes
INGREDIENTS
- 1½ cups fresh parsley leaves
- ½ cup fresh mint leaves
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1½ tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon capers, rinsed
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- Salt and pepper
- 2 heads cauliflower (2 pounds each), cut into four 1½-inch-thick slabs
- Lemon wedges
INSTRUCTIONS
- Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 500 degrees. Pulse parsley, mint, ¼ cup oil, water, vinegar, capers, garlic, and ⅛ teaspoon salt in food processor until mixture is finely chopped but not smooth, about 10 pulses, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Transfer salsa verde to small bowl and set aside until ready to serve.
- Place slabs on rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with 2 tablespoons oil. Sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon salt and ⅛ teaspoon pepper and rub to distribute. Flip slabs and repeat.
- Cover baking sheet tightly with aluminum foil and roast for 5 minutes. Remove foil and roast until bottoms of steaks are well browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Gently flip steaks and continue to roast until tender and second sides are well browned, 6 to 8 minutes.
- Transfer steaks to platter and brush evenly with ¼ cup salsa verde. Serve with lemon wedges, passing remaining salsa verde separately.
