The other night we were trying to think of a side dish to have with burgers.  Tony says, “How about grilled cauliflower?  I think I saw a recipe for cauliflower steaks in one of our magazines recently.”  Hmmmm…intriguing.  I’ve come to find that most veggies are better either grilled or roasted.  So I Googled.  I found the one he was referring to, in Bon Appétit.  Cauliflower Steaks with Olive Relish and Tomato Sauce.  Well, they weren’t grilled and they were a little more complicated than I wanted and I am not a fan of olives. So back to Google.  I actually found a bunch of recipes for grilled cauliflower steaks.  I knew I wanted to just brush with a little olive oil, maybe some lemon juice and herbs, but I wanted to find the method.  So I ended up combing ideas from a few of the recipes.  The result?  A-mazing.  The cauliflower gets all nutty and caramelized….mmmm…goodness.  Yummy.  Healthy.  Delicious.

Note – one whole head of cauliflower was devoured by the two of us.  You’ll see that when you start slicing the cauliflower, you only really get three or four “steaks”.  The rest falls off into big (and some small florets).  You can grill the bigger floret pieces.  Save the smaller ones for dipping into hummus.

Grilled Lemony-Herb Cauliflower Steaks

INGREDIENTS

(Serves two)

1 head cauliflower

1/4 cup olive oil

juice of one lemon

2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped small

1 tablespoon fresh flat-leaf parsley, minced

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

DIRECTIONS

Preheat grill to medium-low.

Whisk olive oil, lemon juice, basil, parsley and oregano.

Remove outer leaves and trim stem end of cauliflower, leaving core intact. Place cauliflower core side down on a work surface. Using a large knife, slice cauliflower into three or four 1/2″ “steaks” from center of cauliflower.  Some pieces will fall off.  You can grill the larger pieces.  Save the small florets for dipping, raw, into hummus, for a healthy snack.

Brush both sides of the cauliflower steaks with olive oil mixture. Grill cauliflower on each side, brushing with additional olive oil mixture, until cauliflower is nutty brown and tender but still firm, about 3 or 4 minutes per side.  Serve warm and with additional olive oil/lemon/herb mixture for dipping.