Charred Cauliflower Steaks baked in a Creamy Lemon Sauce
This recipe is a complete keeper for 2017! I am totally addicted to this super contemporary take on cauliflower. I wanted to pair this with a light lemon-cream sauce to accompany the soft sweetness of the cauliflower. Sear and bake – this recipe is so easy, it will be a regular for years to come! This is super perfect to serve with any left over Christmas turkey or ham , continuing your gourmet surprises through the festive season!
To get the perfect cauliflower steak you will probably get a max of 3 ‘perfectly shaped steaks.’ What I usually do is add a few of the odd pieces – just incase someone wants an extra little bite to munch on! As for the rest, I freeze it and whizz it up for my ‘Cauliflower Couscous’ recipe – so absolutely no waste!
- 2 medium sized cauliflowers
- 2 tsp sesame seeds
- 2 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp Spanish paprika
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 cups cream
- ½ cup hot water
- ½ tsp sugar
- Juice of ½ lemon
- 2 tbs freshly chopped parsley
- 2 tbs olive oil for light frying
- 2 tbs butter
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 4 tbs breadcrumbs
- Heat your oven to 180 degrees centigrade.
- Start by removing the ‘base’ of the cauliflower, discard this.
- Now, the trick to get the perfect steak is to start slicing from exactly the center of the cauliflower. Create a ‘steak’ by leaving a 1 inch gap and slicing very slowly and carefully down the cauliflower, leaving you with a ‘flower shape’ cauliflower steak (It’s basically taking a section of the cauliflower!)
- Heat a large wide frying pan until hot but not smoking. Place in the butter and the oil until both have melted together.
- Add the sesame seeds, thyme, garlic, paprika, and oregano. Fry gently for 2 minutes.
- Now add your steaks to the pan. Lower the heat to medium and do not touch for at least 2 minutes. Gently lift up the steak with a spatula to check that it is starting to take on a golden sear. Once you see this, very carefully flip it over.
- Repeat this process twice until both sides have a lovely golden brown, slightly charred sear. Now place in an oven proof dish.
- In a dish mix the cream, lemon juice, water, sugar, salt and black pepper. Pour the mixture over the steaks.
- Lastly, sprinkle over the salted breadcrumbs and bake without covering for 10–12 minutes until the sauce is bubbling and the cauliflower is nice and tender.
- Scatter over the chopped parsley and here is your perfectly gorgeous vegetarian dish!