Cauliflower “Steaks” with Creamy Lime-Avocado Sauce

I recently had the opportunity to eat at Vedge, an amazing vegetarian restaurant in Philadelphia that has been winning awards including the “best of Philly” title for the past few years. It was such a delightful experience for the veggie lover that I am, that it made me want to experiment even more with vegetables in my own kitchen! I already eat a mostly vegetarian diet but I could always benefit from more out-of-the-box thinking and creative vegetable uses.

This recipe is one of my attempts at this kind of experimenting. And let me tell you that experimenting tastes really delicious right now! This is one of these veggie-wonder dishes that makes you completely rediscover a vegetable. The deliciously crispy and caramelized edges of the cauliflower slices perfectly complement the creamy dressing. It’s truly a wonderful play on taste and textures.

I first stumbled upon the concept of cauliflower “steak” on Pinterest a while back, but hadn’t had the chance to try it since then. Until today that is, when I opened my fridge to find a cauliflower head that was just begging to be turned into “steaks”. Since I also had an overripe avocado, I figured I could turn that into a creamy dressing, which probably wouldn’t taste bad with cauliflower. Now, that really hit the spot. Pure creamy, garlicky, green deliciousness! In fact, it was good that I may or may not have eaten half of my remaining cauliflower head raw and simply dipped in dressing, while the “steaks” were roasting. Bon appétit!

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Total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients: 

• 1/4 cauliflower head
• 1/2 avocado
• 1/2 lime, juice
• 1/4 garlic clove
• a handful of cilantro (optional)
• about 1/2 cup water
• 1 tbsp olive oil (plus more for roasting the cauliflower)
• a drizzle of sriracha
• sea salt and black pepper

Directions:

1. Cut the cauliflower head into steaks. To do so, cut it lengthwise near the center where the stem is so that your cut holds florets together. Drizzle the slices with olive oil and roast it at 420°F for about 25 minutes. Flipping them after 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, make the creamy avocado sauce. In a blender mix the mashed avocado, minced garlic clove, cilantro, lime juice, olive oil, sriracha and water until you reach a creamy consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. To plate start with some sauce at the bottom of your plate, add the roasted cauliflower slices, and drizzle with some more sauce. Garnish with cilantro and a few extra drops of sriracha. Enjoy!

Temps total: 30 minutes

Ingrédients: 

• 1/4 chou-fleur
• 1/2 avocat
• 1/2 citron vert, jus
• 1/4 gousse d’ail
• une poignée de coriandre fraiche (optionnel)
• environ 1/2 tasse d’eau
• 1 c.s d’huile d’olive (plus pour faire cuire le chou-fleur)
• un filet de sriracha
• sel de mer et poivre noir fraichement moulu

Etapes:

1. Tranchez le chou-fleur vers le centre dans le sens de la hauteur. Badigeonnez ces tranches d’huile d’olive et saupoudrez de sel. Faites les cuire pendant 25 minutes à 220°C, en les retournant après 20 minutes.
2. Pendant ce temps, préparez la “crème d’avocat”. Dans un blender, mélangez l’avocat écrasé, l’ail émincé, le jus de citron vert, la coriandre, la sriracha, l’huile d’olive, et l’eau jusqu’à obtenir la consistence désirée. Assaisonnez de sel et de poivre.
3. Pour servir, commencez par mettre un peu de sauce dans l’assiette, puis ajoutez les tranches de chou-fleur et enfin ajoutez un autre filet de sauce. Garnissez de coriandre fraichement émincée et de quelques gouttes de sriracha en plus. Bon appétit!

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