STEVE’S & SHARON’S ANIMAL-FREE LOBSTER – GOAT
First thing Steve said was , “I feel like I’m eating lobster”. And so did I. A true delight without the cruelty!
Serves 2 – or more if served as a side dish (this was our late night supper)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
1 head cauliflower – remove leaves, cut off stalk flush with bottom, then cut up into stalk just a bit to remove bottom part of core without disconnecting any of the trees; scrape off discolored spots, then wash
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. garlic powder
1 t. dry mustard
1 t. paprika
1 t. ground rosemary
1 T. light brown sugar
freshly ground black pepper
1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 c. apple cider vinegar
additional olive oil
red grape tomatoes, halved (garnish)
fresh parsley (garnish)
Place cauliflower bottom side down in an 8 x 8 inch baking dish.
Sprinkle evenly with salt, garlic powder, dry mustard, paprika, rosemary, brown sugar and freshly ground black pepper.
Drizzle evenly with olive oil – that’s okay that it falls to the dish.
Pour apple cider vinegar in bottom of dish, around cauliflower.
Cover with aluminum foil – raised in center like a dome, then tightly fit around rim.
Bake in preheated 400 degree oven for 1 hour ( longer if the cauliflower is very large) till cauliflower is fork-soft throughout.
Remove foil, spoon some of liquid from dish up over cauliflower, then broil till a little charred on the tips of the buds.
Remove from oven onto serving plate, carefully, using a broad-based utensil. Pour liquid from dish over head of cauliflower. Then drizzle with a little more olive oil. Garnish plate with tomatoes and fresh parsley.
Notes: Steam comes out when spooned. Nice effect!
‘Fall off the bone’ tender. Creamy, but not too tasty, not too anything. That would ruin the lobster experience. Just you and the cauliflower; wine is needed only for the ‘fine’ of the dish, but it certainly isn’t required. I’m going to go out and buy a bottle of cheap but nice – one red, one white.
One more thing: With roasted cauliflower, fork-tender doesn’t necessarily mean it’s done. Before it’s actually done, whereby it’s not tough nor crisp, you will be able to stick a long-pronged fork into it, and it will release fairly easily. So, fork-soft is what we go for. I found this out with the very first time I roasted one. Keep in your mind lobster’s soft, but not mushy. This isn’t a salad; it’s an experience. Don’t scrimp on the olive oil; that’s the butter. Lemon isn’t needed, because there’s no fishy smell or taste to mask.
CHEF DAVIES-TIGHT™ 