Who says vegetarians should miss out on steaks with creamy mushroom sauce? Just like ordinary steaks, you can toss these cauliflower steaks on a hot grill or griddle pan and have dinner ready in a jiffy. Cauliflowers have a mellow flavour that allows you to basically marinate with whatever you like. One of my favourite simple marinate which I’ll be using in today’s recipe, is cumin and coriander olive oil. Both herbs which complement one another nicely and gives the cauliflower steaks an earthy fragrant and heat which is simply delicious.
No steak is complete without a flavoursome sauce to complete it. For our cauliflower steaks today, I decided to master a classic; creamy mushroom sauce. Creamy mushroom sauce is just one of those sauces if made right, you can’t get enough of and will eat with practically anything and everything. I love having this sauce with pastas, roasted vegetables, hot chips and lots more. Just tweak this mushroom sauce recipe with some extra herbs and spices depending on your dish.
Another touch I like to add to my cauliflower steak dish is a side of spicy roasted chickpeas. These smoked paprika and hot cayenne pepper roasted chickpeas adds a nice crunch and hit of spice, that is if you can resist pecking on them before your dish hits the table.
If you have a handful of cherry tomatoes to spare, like I always do from our few potted tomato plants on the deck, just toss in a few on the sides of the griddle pan while grilling the cauliflower steaks. These gorgeous red cherry tomatoes adds a burst of colour, flavour and juiciness to your cauliflower steaks. This simply delicious dish is all you could possibly ask for in an absolutely satisfying dinner from the flavoursome charred bits of the cauliflower to the richness of the mushroom sauce to the crunch of the chickpeas and the juiciness of the tomatoes, this dish is simply delicious.
| Prep Time | 10 minutes |
| Cook Time | 35 minutes |
| Servings |
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- 1 cauliflower
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- 1 tablespoon salt
- a punnet of cherry tomatoes (optional)
- 2 cans chickpeas
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon hot cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- non-stick cooking spray
- 30 grams butter
- 300 grams mushrooms sliced
- 1/2 cup dry white wine (optional)
- 2 garlic cloves grated
- 300 mL cream
- salt and cracked black pepper to taste
- a drizzle of olive oil
Ingredients
Grilled Cauliflower Steaks
Roasted Chickpeas
Mushroom Sauce
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- Trim off tough outer leaves of cauliflower and hard section of stem just slightly then sit cauliflower base on chopping board. Cut cauliflower straight down the middle and cut two slices of 2cm thick steaks from each half of the cauliflower.
- Combine olive oil, cumin, coriander and salt in a small bowl and mix well. Brush on cauliflower steaks. Heat griddle pan to medium high heat and cook each cauliflower steak for approximately 7 to 8 minutes on each side. Marinate and sit cherry tomatoes to roast around outer edge of pan (optional).
- Preheat the oven at 180 degrees C (350 degrees F). Line baking tray with baking paper. Drain and rinse chickpeas then dry with paper towel. Spread chickpeas out on prepared baking tray then spray with non-stick cooking spray and toss in salt. Roast for 20 minutes. Remove from oven. Toss in smoked paprika and cayenne pepper then mix well. Roast for another 20 minutes.
- Heat sauce pan at medium heat. Add butter and melt. Add mushrooms and grated garlic and soften for 5 minutes. Add dry white wine, if using (optional). Reduce heat and add cream, salt and cracked black pepper to taste. Mix well. Simmer to desired consistency approximately 10 minutes. Drizzle on olive oil.
A single large cauliflower normally yields 4 cauliflower steaks. I like to toss in the rest of the cauliflower bits as well. No reason to waste them plus they work so well as a side dish for the next few days. Better yet, with leftovers, the flavours will further infuse into the cauliflowers.
