Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Butter
I would say that in our family cauliflower was the only underrated vegetable, which I used to cook carefully and rather rarely. But it seems that things change when you find the right and good recipes.
At one point, I was thinking it would be even easier to break the raw cauliflower into florets and, sprinkled with butter, would cook faster. But you should know that only baked whole, the cauliflower can hold its crispy texture. I'd say this is where its charm lies - baked cauliflower, fragrant and also crunchy!
First of all, the cauliflower has to be fresh (even if imported), white, without spots or withered leaves.
Cut off the core at the base and remove the leaves.
Carve inside as much as you can with a knife - the cauliflower should remain whole but it will cook better if it has as little as possible of the thick and useless core in the middle.
Important detail!
Choose a baking pan just slightly bigger than the cauliflower. Two times I used a simple large baking sheet and I was surprised that the butter spread all over the surface, making so much smoke in the kitchen. In a small pan, it will remain compact and won't burn under the cauliflower.
Take the softened butter in your hands and rub the cauliflower with no mercy on all sides and florets.
Pretty much like this, well coated in butter.
Sprinkle with salt on all sides.
And place in the preheated oven at 200C for 1 hour.
Every 15 minutes, carefully remove from the oven and brush the cauliflower with the butter that drains at the bottom of the pan.
Along the way, it gets more and more tanned.
In the end, it will look like this. Test it with a knife, if it enters easily, the cauliflower is ready. Let cool a bit.
Then cut in half and break into florets with a knife.
Sprinkle with a little more salt, as the salt sprinkled on top won't reach on the inside. It also depends on your taste.
We eat it simple, it's slightly crunchy and so flavorful. It can the perfect garnish for some meat or fish. Every time, it seems so little and the children rush to grab it from the plate :)
Enjoy!
