Salt Cauliflower Just Like Turkey
Since they don’t eat giant whole birds, vegetarians often miss out on this special, visually appealing main dish that meat-eaters enjoy because meat-eaters can be selfish, especially on a day that revolves around ceremonially eating a living dinosaur and then wanting one (and just one) of his broken bone.
Obviously, there are many beautiful, delicious foods to feed your friends and family from plants, and one of my favorites is whole, fried, beautifully toasted cauliflower. When cauliflower is allowed to be itself – rather than being forced into awkward situations where it has to pretend to be a pizza crust – it’s actually a very good vegetable. As we all know, roasting creates a ton of flavor, but to turn your cauliflower into a wow-if, you need to brine the sucker just like a turkey.
This practice, which I ran into while looking through my life coach’s new cookbook , makes a lot of sense. In the words of Matty Matheson (who would be my personal trainer), “If you only season the outside, nothing inside tastes good.” Mattie brined it with a simple 10 percent pickle, but I took the liberty of inviting a few more friends to the party, such as saffron, garlic, and Meyer’s lemon zest. The brine not only adds flavor, but also provides moisture that steams the cauliflower during cooking to help soften it. To make your own vegan scented flower you will need:
- 1 whole cauliflower, trimmed leaves
- 1 liter of water
- 100 grams of kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1 teaspoon whole pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon saffron thread, chopped between your fingers
- Zest of 1 Meyer’s lemon, striped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for cleaning while cooking
Add water, salt and sugar to a saucepan and heat until the solutes are dissolved. Remove the skillet from heat, add the remaining ingredients, and let it brew until it reaches room temperature. Place the cauliflower in a bowl, freezer bag, or other cauliflower-sized container, fill the brine so that it is completely submerged in the water, then cover (if not using an airtight bag or container) and refrigerate overnight. (or for eight daytime hours).
Preheat oven to 375 ℉. Remove the cauliflower from the brine and let it drain upside down on paper towels for a few minutes. Turn over, let drain for a few more minutes, then turn over again and pour one tablespoon of oil over the stems, whisking the cauliflower until spread evenly. Place the cauliflower, stem side down, in a cast iron skillet (or other baking dish) and sprinkle the floral side with another tablespoon of oil, using a baking brush (or fingers) to make sure it’s covered. (No more salt needed here – it’s carefully seasoned.)
Place it in the oven (and toss the head of garlic in there while you’re in it), brushing it with plenty of olive oil every half hour until it is easily pierced with a knife, about an hour and a half to two hours, depending on size. If you are using a convection oven, it will brown pretty quickly and you can cover it with foil halfway through. If you are not using a convection oven, it will not brown either and you may have to roast it for a few minutes at the end to get the color you want. Let cool for a couple of minutes and sprinkle with citrus zest and your best flaky salt before chopping into boards and sprinkling with toasted garlic. Serve with whipped goat cheese or herb pesto.