Curried Cauliflower Steaks

While I don’t remember my first taste of cauliflower, it certainly wasn’t in childhood. As a Mad Men-era kid, my vegetable world consisted of frozen peas, iceberg lettuce and an occasional carrot stick. The closest I got to cauliflower was broccoli, but that’s like saying I knew something about China because I visited Chinatown in lower Manhattan. 

Even in college, when hummus and eggplant were all the rage, it was nowhere on my horizon. 

But now that cauliflower has come into my life, there is no turning back.

Properly cooked, cauliflower has a slightly nutty taste. I like it simply brushed with oil and butter, and roasted whole. Prepared that way, cauliflower gets soft and almost creamy inside. It’s also great cut into florets and roasted, so that the smaller pieces get crunchy.  

Given its plain – some would say bland – taste, cauliflower pairs beautifully aromatic herbs and with the spices common in Indian and other Southeast Asian cuisines. Once roasted (a much better way to cook cauliflower than boiling or steaming), you can turn it into dip or soup, using spices and other vegetables to add other flavor dimensions. 

Last year, at a New York City restaurant, I saw cauliflower steak and I was enthralled. The concept of sliced cauliflower led me to a whole new level of appreciation for the possibilities of “cauliflowerdom.” I didn’t order the steak, only saw it on someone else’s plate, but it immediately went onto my culinary “must make” bucket list.

As the weather cooled and cauliflower began appearing in grocery stores, I began to think about cauliflower steaks – and lo and behold, my Secret Recipe Club partner for this month, Danielle, has a recipe for Curried Cauliflower Steak with Chickpeas + Feta. It was an easy pick for my October recipe from Danielle’s blog, Mostly Food & Crafts. 

Danielle is incredibly crafty, as well as being a creative cook. I may not need to make a tutu for my 20-something daughter (or anyone else) these days, but if I ever do have a tutu-age kid around, I am definitely going back to Danielle’s post on how to make a homemade tutu. And speaking of cute, the pics of her kids helping to cook donuts are absolutely adorable. Looking through her recipe list, called Mostly Food, I found lots of dishes we both love. We both love roasted vegetables, like her Slow Roasted Garlic Tomatoes. I even found recipes for dishes that we are probably among a select group who love – any other takers for candied kumquats? They’re delicious, but if you don’t believe me, that just leaves more for Danielle and me to devour. 

As to the curried cauliflower steaks, suffice it to say that they were delectable! 

The ingredients are simple.

Creating slices is not tricky, it just requires starting close to the middle and not taking off too much of the stem of bottom leaves until after you’ve made the slices

 Brushed with a combination of olive oil, curry, salt and ground pepper, with a few red pepper flakes sprinkled on at the end, the steaks are sautéed, then broiled for a few minutes with the chick peas.  The crumbled or cubed feta is added at the end, just as you serve it from the pan. Quicker than roasting and ever so tasty!

Print Recipe

Curried Cauliflower Steaks Yum

Cauliflower cooked to perfection with Indian spices, feta cheese and chick peas.

Prep Time

10 minutes

Cook Time

20 minutes

Servings

Ingredients

• 2 slices of cauliflower each about 3/4-inch thick, cut from the center of a large head of cauliflower
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder I mixed mild and hot 50/50
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• Red pepper flakes optional
• 3/4 gram cup of canned chickpeas well-rinsed (about 1/2 of a 15.5 ounce/430 gram can)
• 1/2 cup feta cheese crumbled or cut into small cubes

Prep Time 10 minutes Cook Time 20 minutes Servings Ingredients 2 slices of cauliflower each about 3/4-inch thick, cut from the center of a large head of cauliflower 3 tablespoons olive oil 1/2 teaspoon curry powder I mixed mild and hot 50/50 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt Freshly ground pepper Red pepper flakes optional 3/4 gram cup of canned chickpeas well-rinsed (about 1/2 of a 15.5 ounce/430 gram can) 1/2 cup feta cheese crumbled or cut into small cubes

Instructions

1. Mix the olive oil, curry powder, salt, and ground pepper in a small bowl
2. Brush both sides of the slices with the oil and spice mixture, the sprinkle a few red pepper flakes on top.
3. Heat a large oven proof pan (preferably cast iron) over medium heat.
4. Add the cauliflower slices to the heated pan and brown, flipping over after about 3 minutes to brown other side.
5. Roll the chick peas in the remaining oil, curry powder, and salt/pepper mixture. Add them to the pan.
6. Turn on the broiler. Place the pan under the broiler for about 5 minutes. The top of the cauliflower will caramelize slightly and the chick peas will heat up.
7. Just after taking the pan out of the broiler, add the crumbled or cubed feta.

Recipe Notes

The small pieces of cauliflower that fall off as you are cutting the slices make great roasted cauliflowerettes or use them in soup or as appetizers with a dip.
You can add the feta after you plate the cauliflower steaks, but I prefer to add it in the pan, to let the cheese soften.

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