True to its name, this recipe was born as my best friend and I sat on her kitchen floor hungrily peering through the oven window waiting for our dinner to roast.
I had just wrapped a long week of events in Los Angeles and because we had chit-chatted for hours, we didn’t even think about dinner until the clock struck 9pm (and of course, were starving and painfully aware there was literally nothing to eat).
We dug up a head of near-withering cauliflower, a few handfuls of fresh herbs, et voila the most surprisingly-delicious Caramelized Kitchen Floor Cauliflower was born! But there’s just one little trick—you can’t touch the cauliflower until it’s done roasting. See “Why? #1” to find out why!
A big bowl of this cauliflower can be a meal of its own (perhaps topped with a poached or fried egg) or an excellent and easy side dish. Caul it a win!
Food La La Recipe: Kitchen Floor Cauliflower
Serves: 2
Ingredients:
1 large head cauliflower
Olive oil
Fennel salt
1 handful each: basil, dill, chive
½ lemon, juiced
Kosher salt, cracked pepper
Steps:
Preheat oven to 425.
Wash cauliflower and remove outer leaves. Cut into quarters, then slice each quarter (about ½” thick).
Arrange cauliflower slices on parchment-lined baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with fennel salt and
Bake for about 25 minutes, or until it’s tender enough to prick with a fork. Do NOT move cauliflower while it’s roasting. (WHY? #1)
While cauliflower roasts, finely chop herbs.
Remove cauliflower from oven, let cool slightly, then transfer to a bowl.
Sprinkle with herbs, lemon juice, and more salt/cracked pepper if desired. Toss to coat then serve.
Psst! A few little recipe notes:
WHY? #1: Caramelizing vegetables adds a ton of natural flavor. When you roast veggies their natural sugars break down as the water steams off. If left untouched—not flipped or shuffled around on the pan—you’ll achieve a nice golden caramelization. If you move the cauliflower too much, it won’t have a chance to deeply caramelize (which is where you get a lot of great flavor!)