The Crown Jewel - Roast Cauliflower Steak
ROAST CAULIFLOWER STEAK, TRUFFLED CAULIFLOWER PUREE, SHAVED CAULIFLOWER DRESSING, DEEP FRIED LEAVES, TOASTED BUCKWHEAT.
Vegetarians, God bless them! We take the ‘vegetarian option’ very seriously here at Bread and Flowers. We don’t even like the term, ‘vegetarian option’, so we simply don’t use it. Oops, I just have done, twice!
I’ve always wanted to create a cauliflower steak dish, making it rich, creamy and main “coursey”, using the whole cauliflower - stalks and leaves - and making it look really pretty.
This is an amalgam of recipes from Marcus Waring and Gill Meller, perfectly mixed by Bread and Flowers. The recipe looks long winded and tricky, but the different bits can be done separately, even on different days if it makes your life easier. The day before you serve you can make the puree and toast the buckwheat, and then pan fry and baste the steaks, storing them in the parchment and foil in the roasting tray ready to go.
Then on the day, you just need to place the tray of cauliflower into a pre-heated oven for 20 minutes, warm up the puree, deep fry the leaves, assemble and serve. All killer, no filler as they say on the dance floors of clubland!
Serves 4
ROAST CAULIFLOWER STEAKS
Cauliflowers (800 – 1000gm each) 2
Butter – unsalted 40gm
Oil – olive 40gm
S&P To taste
Thyme sprigs 8gm
Garlic – cloves 2
Rosemary sprigs 8gm
TRUFFLED CAULIFLOWER PUREE
Cauliflower florets left over from above 340gm
Onion – brown 100gm
Oil – olive 15ml
Butter – unsalted 10ml
Garlic – cloves 2
Stock – Vegetable 200ml
Oil – truffle 5ml
S&P To taste
SHAVED CAULIFLOWER DRESSING
Cauliflower florets left over from above 60gm
Parsley - flat leaf 20ml
Oil – olive 20ml
Oil – rapeseed 20ml
Vinegar – white wine 16ml
Garlic – cloves 1
S&P To taste
DEEP FRIED LEAVES
Cauliflower leaves left over from above, use 12 individual leaves, 3 per person
TOASTED BUCKWHEAT
Buckwheat 30gm
METHOD
ROAST CAULIFLOWER STEAKS
Cut across the base of the cauliflower to remove all the leaves.
Cut the cauliflower in half, then cut 1 x 30/35ml wide slice from each side, you should then have 2 slices (steaks) approximately 130gm each.
Put the spare florets and leaves to one side.
Peel and halve the garlic cloves.
Leave the thyme and rosemary sprigs whole, about 6cm in length.
Line a roasting tray with a layer of kitchen foil, then a layer of baking parchment.
Add the olive oil to a frying pan and get it reasonably hot. Place the steaks in the hot pan and fry both sides until golden in colour, but not burnt, season with Malden salt and coarse ground black pepper.
Add the butter, garlic, thyme and rosemary, and when the butter is foaming, baste the steaks with the butter using a spoon for about 2 minutes either side.
Place the steaks on the parchment in the roasting tray, pour in all the basting juices, garlic and herbs. Cover with parchment and then wrap over the kitchen foil.
When ready, finish cooking in a preheated oven at 180 degrees, for about 20 minutes.
TRUFFLED CAULIFLOWER PUREE
Put the vegetable stock in a saucepan bring to the boil and set aside.
Peel and slice the onion and garlic, break up the florets into smaller pieces.
Heat the butter and olive oil in a saucepan. Add the onion, sweat down for a couple of minutes, add the garlic, continue to gently cook until the onion and garlic are soft but not coloured.
Throw in the florets and toss through the oil, butter and onion mix. Add the stock, bring to the boil, then simmer for about 15 minutes until the florets are soft. Once cooked, strain the florets, onion, garlic, keeping the stock to one side.
Put the florets mix into a blender, add 30ml stock and blitz until smooth, not too thick but definitely not runny. Add the truffle oil and check the seasoning, blitz again for a minute.
SHAVED CAULIFLOWER DRESSING
Finely slice the cauliflower florets (you could use a mandolin). Finely dice the garlic, chop the parsley.
Mix the olive and rapeseed oil together and whisk into the white wine vinegar, add seasoning.
Dress the florets, garlic and parsley lightly.
DEEP FRIED LEAVES
Add 1 litre vegetable oil to a saucepan and heat. Using a pair of tongs, gently lower the cauliflower leaves, one by one, into the hot oil.
Deep fry for a couple of minutes, the leaves will turn from green to gold.
Remove from the pan using the tongs and set aside on kitchen roll to absorb any excess oil. They should be crispy.
Please note: The oil tends to spatter like crazy when the leaves first go in, so you may want to perform this process on a table outside, make sure to wear an apron, a pair of goggles wouldn’t go amiss.
TOASTED BUCKWHEAT
Put a frying pan on a hob and get it hot, a cast iron pan works for me.
Throw in the buckwheat and toss it around the pan, watch it like a hawk. Keep stirring until it changes to a golden colour.
Tip out into a cool bowl after a couple of minutes, allow to cool.
ASSEMBLY
Place a quarter of the hot puree onto the centre of a plate, press down with the back of a spoon using a circular motion to create a circle of puree about 12cm diameter.
Remove a hot cauliflower steak from the roasting tray, take off any garlic and herbs and place centrally, on top of the puree.
Scatter the shaved cauliflower dressing around the edge of the steak, dot 3 or 5 crispy leaves around the plate and scatter with the toasted buckwheat.