Recipes › Cauliflower › Cauliflower Steaks with Romesco and Toasted Almonds
Cauliflower Steaks with Romesco and Toasted Almonds
Thick slabs of cauliflower are seared hard in a cast iron pan until deeply golden, then finished in the oven and served over a smoky Spanish romesco sauce. The romesco — made from roasted red peppers, tomatoes and almonds — is rich enough to make this a proper main course. It is the sort of dish that makes people forget they are eating vegetables.
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Ingredients
- 2 Cauliflower, outer leaves removed
- 6 tbsp Olive oil
- 1 tsp Flaky sea salt
- 200 g Roasted red peppers from a jar, drained and roughly choppedor 3 fresh red peppers, roasted and peeled
- 250 g Ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 80 g Blanched almonds
- 3 cloves Garlic, peeled
- 1 tsp Smoked paprika
- 2 tbsp Sherry vinegaror red wine vinegar
- 15 g Flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped (optional)
- 30 g Flaked almonds
Contains: nuts, sulphites.
Method
- Heat your oven to 200°C fan. Standing each cauliflower on its base, slice from top to bottom through the centre to get 2 thick steaks per cauliflower (each about 3cm thick). Reserve any florets that fall away.About 5 min
- Toast the blanched almonds in a dry frying pan over a medium heat for 3–4 minutes, tossing regularly, until golden and smelling nutty. Tip into a blender and set aside.About 4 min
- Add the roasted red peppers, tomatoes, garlic, smoked paprika, sherry vinegar and 3 tablespoons of olive oil to the blender with the almonds. Blend until you have a thick, slightly textured sauce. Season well with salt, taste and adjust the vinegar or paprika if needed. Set aside.About 3 min
- Place a large ovenproof frying pan or cast iron skillet over a high heat until very hot. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Lay 2 cauliflower steaks flat in the pan and press down gently. Sear without moving for 3 minutes until a deep golden crust forms, then flip and sear the other side for 2 minutes. Transfer to an oven tray and repeat with the remaining steaks and another tablespoon of oil.About 12 min
- Scatter any reserved loose florets around the steaks on the tray, drizzle with the remaining olive oil and season with salt. Roast in the oven for 15 minutes until the cauliflower is completely tender when pierced with a knife.About 15 min
- While the cauliflower finishes in the oven, toast the flaked almonds in the same frying pan over a medium heat for 2 minutes until golden. Remove immediately.About 2 min
- Spread a generous pool of romesco onto each plate. Lay a cauliflower steak on top, scatter with the toasted flaked almonds and parsley if using, and serve immediately.
Tips
- The sear is everything here — the pan must be properly hot before the cauliflower goes in. If it sizzles timidly, the crust will steam rather than brown.
- Romesco keeps brilliantly in the fridge for 5 days, so make a double batch. It is excellent stirred through pasta or spooned over grilled fish.
- Choose cauliflowers with tight, compact heads — they will hold together as steaks far better than loose, open ones.
Ring the changes
- Stir a teaspoon of harissa into the romesco for a North African spin.
- Add 30g of stale bread to the blender with the romesco ingredients for a thicker, more traditional Catalan version.
Keeping it
Store leftover cauliflower steaks and romesco separately in airtight containers in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat steaks in a hot oven for 8 minutes. The romesco does not need reheating and is good at room temperature.
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