Antoni Porowski’s Cauliflower Steaks with Turmeric and Crunchy Almonds

_{Excerpted from Antoni in the Kitchen © 2019 by Antoni Porowski with Mindy Fox. Photography © 2019 by Paul Brissman. Reproduced by permission of Rux Martin Books/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.}

With this recipe, you’re essentially creating a turmeric-infused olive oil to brush onto slabs of cauliflower, which are then roasted and topped with a homemade dressing and garnished with sliced dates, chopped cilantro and almonds.

Even if you’ve never used gochujang before—it’s a spicy, savory, somewhat salty paste made from red chilis—you can find it at most supermarkets today. (I found it at Target.) But Porowski says you could also substitute sriracha. Whatever you do, it’s worth adding some element of heat—it helps balance the tanginess of the lime and the sweetness of the honey. Otherwise, those two flavors dominate the meal.

As the oven preheats to 425 degrees F, you’ll want to remove the cauliflower stem and leaves and slice the steak into ¾-inch-thick “steaks.” Porowski suggests reserving the leaves and roasting them with the steaks, but I found they just curl into charred, feathery bits—you don’t lose anything by omitting them. You don’t really gain anything by including them.

With the steaks arranged on a baking sheet, you’ll brush them with olive oil that’s been whisked with turmeric. It’s an oddly satisfying task, though use the oil sparingly to start; it’s easy to try to get every nook and cranny and use it all on half the head of cauliflower.

Homemade dressing seems fussy, until you realize you’re just dumping ingredients in a jar with a lid and shaking until emulsified. Porowski calls for a blend of finely chopped cilantro stems, gochujang, lime juice, extra-virgin olive oil, honey and salt. It creates a mostly sweet-citrusy sauce with a medium-level heat.

Once the cauliflower is out of the oven, all that’s left is assembly. Plate the cauliflower steaks, garnish them with sliced dates, cilantro leaves, almonds and a drizzle of dressing, and you’re good to go. Porowski recommends rounding out the meal with rice or a grain, which I fully recommend—it balances out the intense sweet-meets-tangy flavor of the cauliflower (especially when topped with dates). And if you’re sensitive to spice, it can cool things down.

Though “crunchy almonds” is a key part of the recipe title…you could omit them and you wouldn’t really notice a difference. They add a little nuttiness and crunch, sure, but there’s so much else going on here that you don’t miss bites without ‘em.

The Verdict:

This is a remarkably fast, easy weeknight dinner that’s perfect for vegetarians (or going Meatless Monday). You may want to keep a double batch of the dressing to use as a vinaigrette on salads during the week—it’s that good.