The Best Cauliflower Steaks

Cauliflower falls into my husband’s category of it’s not my favorite.

Minimal kitchen skills required.

Since I’d rather not serve the LOML* a dinner that he has to choke down, I got to work on how to make cauliflower delicious to the cauliflower-wary among us. The result: these cauliflower slabs (“steaks”) with a just-rich-enough-white sauce and a sprinkle of what I call “umami streusel.” LOML loves this dish.

The key to making cauliflower steaks is to steam the entire head of cauliflower for 8-10 minutes before roasting it. The recipe is straight-forward with minimal hands-on time. Break the process down into three parts—(1) the cauliflower (steam + roast), (2) the sauce (all of the ingredients go right into the blender), and (3) the streusel (like the sauce, all of the ingredients go right into the blender).

*Love Of My Life

Ingredients (2 entrees or 4-6 side dishes)

1 head of cauliflower 1 cup LAFF protein crumbles (omit if serving as a side dish)

For the sauce:

1 package (10.9 oz) shelf-stable, extra firm silken tofu such as Mori-Nu 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon lemon juice 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast 2 tablespoons capers 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 1 tablespoon garlic powder ½ cup water Optional—lemon zest

For the streusel:

¼ cup roasted cashews ¼ cup hemp seeds 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt ½ teaspoon garlic powder ½ teaspoon onion powder

Trim off the leaves and some of the stem. Leave enough stem to hold the head together.

Method

Cauliflower: 8-10 minutes to steam + 40-45 minutes to roast

Make sure that the water beneath the steamer basket is simmering when you start the 8 minutes.

1. Preheat the oven to 400 Fahrenheit.

2. Set a steamer basket over a pot with several inches of water; heat the water until it’s simmering.

3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

4. Trim any leaves from the base of one head of cauliflower.

5. Place the entire head of cauliflower in the steaming basket; cover with a lid; steam for 8-10 minutes...just until the cauliflower is fork tender.

6. Transfer the entire head of cauliflower to the parchment-lined baking sheet. Spray or brush the cauliflower with olive oil or avocado oil. Roast the cauliflower for 40-45 minutes or until golden-brown.

7. Carefully slice the cauliflower into slabs (“steaks”) and top with LAFF protein crumbles (optional), plus the sauce and streusel (directions below).

Sauce: 3-5 minutes

1. Combine all of the sauce ingredients in a blender until smooth: 1 package (10.9 oz) shelf-stable, extra firm silken tofu such as Mori-Nu; 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon lemon juice; 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast; 2 tablespoons capers; 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard; 1 tablespoon garlic powder; ½ cup water; optional—lemon zest.

2. Ladle the sauce over the cauliflower slabs.

This “streusel” is a fabulous stand-in for parmesan cheese.

Streusel: 3-5 minutes

1. Pulse all of the streusel ingredients in a small blender or food processor until finely crumbled—¼ cup roasted cashews; ¼ cup hemp seeds; 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast; ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt; ½ teaspoon garlic powder; ½ teaspoon onion powder.

2. Sprinkle the streusel over sauce. Serve the leftover streusel on the side for additional sprinkling.

Notes

If you’re serving this cauliflower as a side dish instead of an entree, consider skipping the LAFF protein crumbles so that it’s more “side-ish.”

You can heat the sauce in the microwave or stove top. Just be sure to frequently stir. I like to pour room temperature sauce over the roasted cauliflower that’s piping hot right from the oven. The heat of the cauliflower will warm up the sauce.

To make the sauce nut-free, substitute the cashews with another kind of seeds such as pumpkin seeds. Of course, you can use all hemp seeds, but having another type of seed will boost the flavor complexity.

Refrigerate leftover sauce and streusel in sealed containers. The sauce makes a fantastic salad dressing or dip. The streusel…ohhhh, the streusel…the streusel is a flavor-texture bomb for pretty much anything. Try it on avocado toast or pasta or spaghetti squash or soups (I’m currently thinking about tomato soup). This week I’ve enjoyed it on a pear salad, in a tofu scramble, and on top of popcorn.

Plant-based comfort food at its finest.