Crispy Cauliflower Steaks with Quick Blue Cheese Mayonnaise
I have to admit: I’m not a big cauliflower fan.
I’ve always found it a bit bland and boring and not particularly tasty unless it is completely smothered in a cheese sauce.
And then I discovered roasted cauliflower and cauliflower “steaks”. Delicious, meaty, melt-in-your-mouth salty sweet cauliflower. Well-seasoned and cooked just the right way, this vegetable becomes king of the vegetables. Seriously.
And the best bit? My kids, who will eat most vegetables but are not particularly fussed about cauliflower either and will take it or…well, mostly leave it – they wolfed this down. And asked for more.
WOW.
So welcome to my new favourite vegetarian recipe: crispy cauliflower “steaks”, ideally topped with the yummy almost-instant blue cheese mayonnaise that I’ve added to the recipe for you. Because a day that ends in -y is an excuse for cheese. And blue cheese is basically a superfood, am I right?
Now, when I was making this, there were quite a lot of cauliflower florets and cauliflower leaves and stalks left. I am a big proponent of reducing food waste, particularly when the stuff usually chucked (like cauliflower leaves, for example) is actually more nutritious than the stuff we eat! So I had to share with you a recipe that you can easily cook alongside this one, giving you delicious soft, sweet, salty “root-to-leaf” cauliflower ready for snacking or for adding to (packed) lunches or as a side to another dinner for later in the week. Because cooking once and eating twice is a lifesaver! So check out that recipe here. And if you’re wondering what on earth cauliflower leaves taste like? It’s very similar to pak choi, both in the way you cook it and the taste it has!
Sweet, salty, crispy and delicious, this vegetarian recipe is the healthier way to have "comfort food".
- 2 small cauliflowers (or 1 very large one)
- 4-6 tbsp flour, cornflour (cornstarch) or coconut/arrowroot flour
- 2 medium eggs, beaten
- 4-6 tbsp Panko breadcrumbs (or homemade breadcrumbs or ground almonds)
- olive or coconut oil, for frying
- salt & pepper
- 3 tsp dried oregano
- 3 heaped tbsp mayonnaise (ideally homemade with olive or avocado oil rather than a rapeseed based one)
- 3 tbsp creme fraiche or sour cream
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- 100 g (3.5 oz) blue cheese (any, but check it is suitable for vegetarians if you are one!), crumbled
- pepper, to taste
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Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/gas 7. Peel off cauliflower leaves (don't throw them away - see this recipe for how to cook them while you make these steaks) but leave the stem. Slice into thick "steaks" from top to bottom of the cauliflower. I used two small cauliflowers and got 6 "steaks" and lots of florets (you can blanch and freeze them or use in this recipe with the leaves). Place flour on one large plate or large shallow bowl, eggs in another, and breadcrumbs in a third. Coat the "steaks" in the flour, then the eggs, then the breadcrumbs and place on a lined baking tray.
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Heat 3-4 tbsp olive or coconut oil in a large frying pan over medium heat and fry the breaded cauliflower for 2-3 mins on each side, until golden. Place them back on the tray and pop them in the preheated oven for about 10-15 mins, until deep golden and slightly softened but with a little bite to them still.
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While the cauliflower is in the oven, make the sauce by whisking all the ingredients together (use a hand-blender or food processor if you want it really smooth without cheese chunks in it).
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Serve the "steaks" hot with the mayonnaise, some salad and/or greens.
