A simple technique for transforming cauliflower
Roasting has the power to transform just about any food, but this effortless cooking technique is most dramatic when applied to winter vegetables.
This is one reason that I'm the person at the table who immediately looks at the side dishes (not dessert!) when I am handed a restaurant menu. If they have roasted vegetables, I have to order them.
These days, well-roasted brussels sprouts and cauliflower are my favorites. But the same technique can be applied to any hard, dense vegetable — sweet potatoes, beets, fennel, whole shallots, carrots, acorn and butternut squash. Even baking potatoes and broccoli are elevated by this technique.
This dish is delicious and healthy, to boot. I roast one to two whole heads of cauliflower until caramelized, then drizzle on an aromatic vinaigrette of capers, shallots and garlic.
The vinaigrette is good when all the ingredients are raw, but when you flash-fry them they become sweet and caramelized and match the tenor of the roasted vegetables. I love the combination of the crispy, yet tender and deeply roasted cauliflower contrasted by the clean, tangy vinegar and Dijon mustard in the vinaigrette.
Roasting transforms cauliflower from something that is difficult to eat to something that you can't get enough of. I liken it to popcorn because it can be similarly addictive. It is almost a magic trick to see how quickly this dish disappears, especially with people who wouldn't touch raw or steamed cauliflower.
• Elizabeth Karmel is a grilling and Southern foods expert and executive chef at Hill Country Barbecue Market restaurants in NewYork and Washington. She has written three cookbooks, including “Soaked, Slathered and Seasoned.”