The trick to getting the inside tender without burning the outside is a gentle heat.Last summer, the hip way to handle cauliflower was to treat it like a steak.
It was a trick that started in restaurants and quickly trickled down to home cooks looking for fresh ways to make an often overlooked vegetable a little more interesting. Most recipes call for cutting a head of cauliflower into thick slabs that remain intact during cooking. The slabs are seasoned and often grilled, and the result is a delicious, impressive and substantial dinner.
But now there’s whole new approach to cooking cauliflower, with “whole” being the key. The food website KitchenDaily.com posted a recipe for spicy whole-roasted cauliflower in which the entire head is coated with a spicy cumin-yogurt sauce, then slowly roasted. The result is a lightly crisped exterior and a tender interior, all of which is cut into slices like a pie.
But it’s summer and anything that can be done on the grill ought to be done on the grill. And maybe it also would be improved with an even crunchier exterior, something savory and a little salty that also would play up the textural contrast with the tender interior.
The solution is a well-seasoned blend of almond flour and egg. Simply overturn the head of cauliflower into a bowl of this coating, then set it on the grill right side up. Note that the trick to getting the insides tender without burning the outside is a gentle heat. Indirect grilling is the best bet for this recipe.