Jerk-Style Cauliflower Steaks
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- Serves: 4
- Preparation: 15
- Cooking: 35
- Ready: 50
Stunning steaks made from cauliflower, a vegetable subtle enough to absorb all the luscious marinade while still retaining some necessary bite.
Ingredients
For the cauliflower steaks
- 1 medium cauliflower
For the marinade
- 35 g fresh coriander
- thumb-size piece of fresh ginger
- 1 scotch bonnet
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- juice of ½ lime
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6.
Place all the marinade ingredients into a food processor or mini blender and blitz until coarse but spreadable.
Remove the leaves from around the cauliflower, but don’t remove the bulb at the bottom, as this is what will keep your steaks intact. Halve the cauliflower and, working from the cut side out, slice each steak around 1½ cm thick … you will probably only get two full steaks from each half but you can roast the remaining florets in the same way.
Generously brush the steaks with the marinade. If you want to do this ahead of time, you can leave them to marinate in the fridge until you need them.
Place the steaks on a roasting tray and loosely cover with foil. Roast for 15–20 minutes before removing the foil for a further 10 minutes, turning once.
Heat a griddle pan to a medium-high heat and finish the steaks off in the pan to mark/sear on both sides. Serve with your chosen accompaniment.
Additional notes
From The New Vegan by Áine Carlin, published by Kyle Books. Photography by Nassima Rothacker.
“I love experimenting with spices and injecting a lot of flavour into ingredients that have very little. Cauliflower is one such vegetable, subtle enough to absorb all that luscious marinade while still retaining some necessary bite. Steaming the ‘steaks’ when they first go in the oven ensures the spices seep into every crevice but crucially, it is their griddle pan finish that adds that necessary finesse to the dish. Serve alongside some Jollof Rice for a double spice hit or go simple with a dressed green salad for a delicious midweek meal. These steaks also work well served with herbed bulgar wheat and wilted spinach.”
