TGIFOOD

SPICY BRASSICA

What’s cooking today: Grilled cauliflower steaks

What’s cooking today: Grilled cauliflower steaks
Tony Jackman’s cauliflower steaks, grilled on a plancha, served on a Mervyn Gers Ceramics plate. (Photo: Tony Jackman)

A few hours of marination in an exotic mix of spices and condiments, followed by quick grilling, makes a centrepiece on the plate or a cool (but hot) side dish.

A heady concoction of Asian sauces mixed with spices and a touch of citrus flavours these cauliflower “steaks”, by which is meant thick slices (about 2 cm) of the brassica. It’s marinated for a few hours and then grilled on a plancha or in a skillet or heavy frying pan for five minutes on each side.

Ingredients

1 head of cauliflower, washed and left to air dry

2 or 3 Tbsp olive oil

Juice and zest of 1 lime

2 Tbsp Sweet Indonesian soy sauce

1 tsp fish sauce

½ tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp ground coriander

½ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp onion powder

⅓ tsp white pepper

½ tsp celery salt

Coriander leaves

Method

Lay the whole head of cauliflower on a flat board, stem side down. If it does not sit evenly, cut off more of the stem.

Using a large sharp knife, cut down through the centre, slowly but firmly. Then cut steaks to either side of it, about 2 cm wide. Any bits and pieces can be stored for use in something else.

Mix the juice, zest, soy and fish sauces, spices and celery salt together and brush over both sides of the “steaks”. Leave to marinate for about 4 hours.

Heat a plancha, skillet or heavy frying pan and, when hot, add olive oil.

Grill the steaks for five minutes on each side, turning once. Garnish with chopped coriander. Easy as that. DM/TGIFood

Tony Jackman is Galliova Food Champion 2021. His book, foodSTUFF, is available in the DM Shop. Buy it here

Mervyn Gers Ceramics supplies dinnerware for the styling of some TGIFood shoots. For more information, click here.

Follow Tony Jackman on Instagram @tony_jackman_cooks. Share your versions of his recipes with him on Instagram and he’ll see them and respond.

SUBSCRIBE to TGIFood here. Also visit the TGIFood platform, a repository of all of our food writing.

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