This recipe is for an incredibly delicious, flavorful, rich yet fresh and light Whole Roasted Cauliflower Mediterranean Style. This dish is easy to make, only requiring a few easy staple ingredients and most of the cooking is taken care of by the oven. Serve this dish as a main course, side dish or include it in a buffet or sharing dinner. This dish is vegetarian, gluten, grain free and low carb. It can easily be made vegan as well.
Cauliflower- on of my favorite favorite vegetables that I eat almost every day of the week! It is versatile, very easy to use, good to include in both sweet and savory dishes and can be used for many different purposes. My favorite ways of using cauliflower is either by making cauliflower purée or by roasting it in the oven/air fryer. Hence this whole roasted cauliflower head is one of my all time favorite dishes! A whole roasted cauliflower is tender, mouth melting and silklike on the inside, while having a lovely golden roasted and caramelized outside with crunchy florets. This cauliflower is glazed in a dressing made of dijon mustard, balsamic vinegar, garlic and a mix of spices before baking, which makes the cauliflower head even more flavorful and adds a lovely golden color. It is served with a rich and tasty tomato sauce and topped with crumbled feta cheese, chopped almonds and fresh parsley. This dish is just as good to serve as a main course together with a salad, quinoa, tabbouleh, a piece of fresh bread or to include in a buffet or sharing dinner. This dish is vegetarian, gluten, grain free and low carb.
A few tips:
- The tomato sauce can be made in advance if you want to decrease the cooking time in the actual serving day.
- Make sure to use good quality tomatoes when making the sauce since it makes the biggest difference. Good quality tomatoes are sweet, flavorful, rich and doesn’t require too many additional ingredients to make a lovely sauce.
- You can also use a store bought tomato/marinara sauce that you like.
- Remove stalk and leaves from the cauliflower and make sure the cauliflower stands well on its own.
- I recommend precooking the cauliflower head to allow it to turn slightly tender and soft before you bake it in the oven. It should however not be fully cooked, it should just be slightly tender and soft, since it will turn softer while baking it in the oven.
- You can make this cauliflower in the oven or in an air fryer, depending on which one you prefer.
- Bake the cauliflower covered with tin foil for about 20 minutes, then remove the tin foil and bake for another 5-10 minutes until the cauliflower is golden brown and has a nice crunchy surface.
- I served my cauliflower topped with feta cheese, chopped almonds and fresh parsley.
- Eat the cauliflower as is, serve with quinoa, a salad, fresh bread, additional sauces and dips on the side.
Ingredients for this Whole Roasted Cauliflower Mediterranean Style:
- Olive oil
- Yellow onion
- Garlic
- Tomato paste
- Canned tomates
- Red chili
- Paprika powder
- Chili powder
- Oregano
- Vegetable stock cube
- Red or white wine vinegar
- Milk or cream
- Cauliflower
- Dijon mustard
- Balsamic vinegar
- Garlic
- Sea salt
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Whole Roasted Cauliflower Mediterranean Style (Vegetarian, Gluten, Grain Free & Low Carb)
Ingredients
For the tomato sauce
- Olive oil, to fry
- 1 small Yellow onion
- 2 cloves Garlic
- 1 tbsp Tomato paste
- 1 (250) can (grams) Canned tomatoes
- 1/2-1 Red chili (optional, if preferred spicy)
- 1/2 tsp Paprika powder
- 1/3-1/2 tsp Chili powder
- 1/2 tsp Oregano
- 1/2 Vegetable stock cube
- 1/2-1 tbsp Red or white wine vinegar
- 2-3 tbsp Milk or cream
For the cauliflower
- 1 medium Cauliflower
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp Balsamic vinegar
- 2-3 cloves Garlic chopped
- 1/2 tsp Paprika powder
- Sea salt, to taste
- A splash of Water, to thin
To top
- 1 package Feta cheese crumbled
- 2-3 tbsp Roasted and salted almonds roughly chopped
- Fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
- Star by making the tomato sauce by preheating a pan over medium heat with some olive oil.
- Add the chopped yellow onion and fry until it starts to turn translucent and soft.
- Add the minced garlic, stir to combine and fry for another 30-60 seconds.
- Add the tomato paste, stir to combine and fry for another minute.
- Add canned tomatoes, chili, spices, vegetables stock and red wine vinegar. Stir to combine and let the sauce simmer on low heat until the cauliflower is done.
- Start by bringing water to a boil in a large pot, large enough to fit the cauliflower head. Add some salt.
- Remove stalks and leaves from the cauliflower head.
- Gently add the cauliflower head to the boiling water, l let it simmer for 6-8 minutes (or longer if using a large cauliflower head). The cauliflower should start to feel slightly soft, but still firm.
- Preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius or air fryer to 200 degrees Celsius.
- Combine the ingredients for the cauliflower marinade in a bowl.
- Drain the cauliflower, place on a deep plate, pour the marinade over it and make sure it covers all parts of the cauliflower. Cover with aluminium foil and bake for approximately 20 minutes. Remove the aluminium foil and bake for another 5-10 minutes, until golden brown and tender all the way through.
- Remove the cauliflower from the oven/air fryer. Place in the middle of the skillet holding the tomato sauce. Or pour the tomato sauce in a deep baking dish and add the cauliflower head in the middle.
- Top with crumbled feta cheese, roughly chopped almonds and parsley.
- Serve immediately while warm.