The NYT recently featured a cauliflower Piccata recipe, which my mother mentioned that she would like to try while staying with me. I made a mental note that I didn't love the recipe, but was pretty sure that I could make a delicious version myself. So I did.
I felt that cauliflower steaks rather than florets would make the recipe feel like more of a main course and simplified the sauce. I served the steak over freekeh, topped with a handful of dressed greens and some sliced onion that I roasted along with the cauliflower.
1 cauliflower steak about one inch thick, reserve the rest of the cauliflower for another use
1 Tbsp butter
1 tsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
1 tsp capers (or green peppercorns for a different slant on the recipe)
2 tsps chopped Italian parsley
Juice from one lemon
Salt to taste
Measure the butter into a large skillet. Add the crushed garlic clove and set aside to infuse the butter with the garlic flavor.
Preheat the oven to 450 while you prepare the cauliflower and line a baking tray with foil. Place the cauliflower steak on the tray and drizzle with the olive oil. Turn the steak over to make sure that it is oiled on both sides.
Season with salt and roast for 15 to 18n minutes until caramelized and golden around the edges and soft at the center when pierced with a knife tip.
Remove from the oven and set aside while you quickly prepare the sauce.
Melt the butter in the pan over medium low heat and heat until the butter is a rich golden color and the garlic clove is sizzling away fragrantly.
Add the other ingredients and stir to combine. Remove the garlic clove.
Pour the sauce over the cauliflower steak and enjoy in whatever incarnation you serve it.
Inspiration recipe, here.