How To Make a Whole Roasted Cauliflower

Roasting a whole head of cauliflower is a transformative experience, both for the cook and the cauliflower. At first you might be befuddled as to why anyone might want to cook an entire head of cauliflower whole, but as you pull the burnished heads of tender, aromatic cauliflower from the oven, you start to understand.

The resulting cauliflower — slathered in an herby butter and served with a rich onion gravy — goes from firm and toothsome to lusciously tender with a crackling, flavorful crust. It’s super easy to prepare, but looks so impressive.

There are many reasons to roast a large vegetable whole, but flavor is chief among them. Cauliflower’s inherent earthy sweetness become more pronounced as the moisture inside it is drawn out. Of course, whole roasting eliminates a ton of prep time and also leads to a very impressive vegetarian centerpiece on your table too.

• This recipe calls for two heads of cauliflower in the three-pound range and will feed six to eight as a side.
• The cauliflowers roast for an hour-and-a-half total, covered for the initial 30 minutes so that they steam slightly before roasting.

• Core the cauliflower. The stalk or core of the cauliflower is arguably the thickest part of the cauliflower, and removing it before roasting does the following things: it allows seasoning to reach the inner pieces of cauliflower, makes it easier to slice later, and significantly trims the cook time.
• Dress in herb butter. Much like a roasted chicken or turkey, cauliflower loves being slathered in a rich, flavorful butter. Room-temperature butter is best and while a spatula will work, I find it’s easiest to work the butter into the cauliflower with clean hands.
• Steam in the oven before roasting. If you just plainly roast a cauliflower, it will dry out in the hot oven before become tender. Instead, cover the cauliflower for the first 30 minutes of roasting with water or broth in the pan, and it will be well on its way to perfection before it starts to crisp and brown.
• Roast until tender. After steaming for 30 minutes, roast the cauliflower uncovered for another hour. The cauliflower will go from pale to golden and finally very deep browned. Much of the liquid in the pan will evaporate, leaving you with soft onions and garlic for turning into gravy.

Once roasted, you can move your roasted cauliflower to a serving platter and use the pan drippings to make a rich brown butter and onion gravy to cover the cauliflower heads. We typically cut the roasted cauliflower into thick wedges for serving under the gravy. Each bite is so luxuriously tender, you’ll only need a fork to sink into the wedge to enjoy.