I saw this idea in Bon Appetite last time I traveled to Santa Fe. Roasting a whole cauliflower? Brilliant. Immediately I thought of it as the new “bloomin’ onion” because lord knows that dish will kill us in a heartbeat. This, conceptually, is the same. It has the same wow factor on the table and is great for sharing. Plus it has a dipping sauce to make it complete. The only problem with the Bon Appetite version for me, is the amount of fat in the cheese accompaniment because it uses four cheeses plus heavy whipping cream. So I wrote a new recipe to give it some health value. This is important because when you eat this once, you’ll want to make it all week long. In fact, I’ve considered just throwing another cauliflower in the pot while the brine is still hot because the other one was gone in five minutes flat. It also makes a great side dish when quartered and drizzled with the sauce.
RECIPE: Whole Roasted Cauliflower
- 2 1/2 cups dry white wine
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup sea or kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 head of cauliflower, leaves removed
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Bring wine, oil, kosher salt, juice, butter, red pepper flakes, sugar, bay leaf, and 8 cups water to a boil in a large pot. Add cauliflower, reduce heat, and simmer, turning occasionally, until a knife easily inserts into center, 15-20 minutes.
RECIPE: Goat Cheese Dipping Sauce
- 8 ounces lowfat cottage cheese
- 4 ounces goat cheese
- 1/4 cup nonfat greek yogurt
- salt and pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS:
Add cheese to a food processor and blend until smooth. Add salt to your liking and a generous amount of cracked black pepper. NOTE: you can do this in a blender, but it may require a splash or two of water to get it going.) NOTE: If you’re not a fan of goat cheese, you can swap it out with Feta or Greek cream cheese.
Transfer cauliflower to a plate. Drizzle with oil; sprinkle with sea salt. Serve with sauce for dipping. Enjoy!
eat less velveeta 
So going to make this. Reminds me of a roasted cauliflower/goat cheese gratin I had recently in Boulder … still need to try to make that one, too! Thanks for the inspiration. =)