Thursday, January 17, 2008

Balsamic & Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower

I have to admit that cauliflower is not my favorite vegetable. Overcooked and mushy it can be downright inedible. So as I was standing in line at Walmart holding my cauliflower that I was planning on making with dinner tonight, I almost decided to make a less daunting vegetable and leave the Walmart without buying anything.

But then in the middle of the tabloids showing Brittany's descent into mental illness, there was an Eating Well magazine. I leafed through it and came across a whole section on cauliflower. My confidence bolstered, I added it to the Chef Boyardi and Pringles I was also buying and headed home to make some cauliflower.

The Balsamic and Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower was what I decided to cook. I like roasted vegetables a lot and I was intrigued by the idea of adding balsamic vinegar and Parmesan cheese. And I've never roasted cauliflower before. I don't know why not. It's really really good this way. I'll make it again this way that's for sure. It was delicious.

Balsamic and Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower

8 cups 1 inch thick slices cauliflower florets (about 1 large head)
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp dried marjoram
1/4 tsp salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Toss cauliflower, oil, marjoram, salt, and pepper. Roast on rimmed baking sheet until starting to soften and brown on the bottom, about 15 minutes (watch closely). Toss the cauliflower with vinegar and sprinkle with cheese. Return to the oven and roast until the cheese is melted and any moisture has evaporated, about 5-10 minutes more.

8 comments:

Cynthia said...

Dearest, I have really been bad lately about visiting. Sorry about that, trying to get a number of things done before I head back to work next week. Will email you soon.

I've recently fallen in love with balsamic as an ingredient to cook with and not just dress my salads. I gotta try this.

glamah16 said...

I can only tolerate cauliflower raw. However this looks tempting. Im proud of you for focusing on all these vegetables.

Mary said...

Cynthia- Don't worry about it. I figured you were busy!

Glamah- I like cauliflower raw too. I was surprised at how much I liked it this way. The only difficulty in focusing on all these vegetables is coming up with new ones to post on. Thanks for the encouragement!

Deborah said...

I love all of these vegetable dishes you've been posting! I actually really like cauliflower, and this recipe sound delicious as I am a balsamic fan as well!

Pixie said...

Cauli isn't a personal favourite either but this does sound like the perfect way to cook it!

aforkfulofspaghetti said...

What an interesting way of cooking cauliflower! I'll definitely be trying that sometime soon. My fave current way of doing it is in a kind of curried/spiced version, using a Madhur Jaffrey recipe. That reminds me - I must blog that one soon. In the meantime, thanks for the heads up on this recipe!

Brilynn said...

I really like making broccoli and asparagus this way too!

Zylo said...

I've always heard it was so good roasted. Of course, I don't think I've ever bought it. I didn't know what to do with it before. But I do now! I can even use my good balsamic.