September 29, 2014 / Guy Mugrabi / 5 Comments
This recipe, or a variation of it, has become a popular dish in many Israeli kitchens. The person, who made it so familiar to everyone, is the renowned chef Eyal Shani who serves it in his restaurants. This cauliflower is buttery soft (yet not mushy) on the inside, with a crunchy, salty, slightly burnt surface. It is a real joy and kids just LOVE it. I deviated slightly from the original recipe to create a simpler and quicker version that is as good as the one served in Eyal Shani’s restaurants.
Ingredients:
1 small to medium cauliflower. For a crunchier result use a small cauliflower with a better inside\surface ratio(pure geometry 🙂 )
Olive oil
Salt – I prefer grey sea salt. It has better taste and texture.
Directions:
1. Preheat an oven to 450F (230C).
2. Rinse the cauliflower thoroughly and remove any “black/grey spots”. Leave the outer leaves intact.
3. Cut the base of the cauliflower so it can stand on its base.
4.Place the whole cauliflower, standing on its base, in a pot big enough to accommodate it, with 1 inch (2.5cm) of water and 2 tsp of salt. Cover with a lid and bring to a boil.
5. Lower to medium heat and steam for exactly 10 minutes.
6.Take the cauliflower out of the pot and place on a cutting board (since it is very hot, at this point, I find that lifting it by squeezing it between two large wooden spoons works the best)
7.Pour some olive oil into your palms and massage the cauliflower’s surface until it is coated with a thin layer of the oil. Make sure to rub the outer leaves as well – this way they too will turn out yummy!
8. Put some grey sea salt in your palmsand rub it in slightly on the cauliflower’s surface.
9.Place the cauliflower in the center of a baking pan lined with aluminum foil, and bake for about 45 minutes.
The cauliflower will first turn yellow, than slightly brown, and when you begin to see parts that are slightly burnt (black), it is time to take it out of the oven.
Serve as a side dish. You can quarter it, if you like, before serving.
It is eaten as is, but would go well with a bit ofolive oil and salt and/or tahini and/orlemon juice and/orspicy jam of lemonsand/orsome chopped cilantro or parsley.
Printable recipe:
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A Whole Baked, Melt-in-Your-Mouth, Cauliflower Recipe
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Ingredients
- 1 small to medium cauliflower. For a crunchier result use a small cauliflower with a better inside\surface ratio (pure geometry )
- Olive oil
- Salt – I prefer grey sea salt. It has better taste and texture.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450F (230C).
- Rinse the cauliflower thoroughly and remove any black/grey spots. Leave the outer leaves intact.
- Cut the base of the cauliflower so it can stand on its base.
- Place the whole cauliflower, standing on its base, in a pot big enough to accommodate it, with 1 inch (2.5cm) of water and 2 tsp of salt. Cover with a lid and bring to a boil.
- Lower to medium heat and steam for exactly 10 minutes.
- Take the cauliflower out of the pot and place on a cutting board (since it is very hot, at this point, I find that lifting it by squeezing it between two large wooden spoons works the best)
- Pour some olive oil into your palms and massage the cauliflower's surface until it is coated with a thin layer of the oil. Make sure to rub the outer leaves as well – this way they too will turn out yummy!
- Put some grey sea salt in your palms and rub it in slightly on the cauliflower's surface.
- Place the cauliflower in the center of a baking pan lined with aluminum foil, and bake for about 45 minutes.The cauliflower will first turn yellow, than slightly brown, and when you begin to see parts that are slightly burnt (black), it is time to take it out of the oven.
Serve as a side dish. You can quarter it, if you like, before serving.
It is eaten as is, but would go well with a bit of olive oil and salt and/or tahini and/or lemon juice and/or spicy jam of lemons and/or some chopped cilantro or parsley.
