Yet cooked, cauliflower is one of the more versatile vegetables I know. Great in soups, pureed as a side dish, baked into savory gratins, or my favorite – roasted.

Roasting brings out cauliflower’s natural sweetness and when it browns and caramelizes it becomes as addictive as potato chips. You can pretty much use any flavor profile you want: Italian with garlic, parsley, pepper flakes, and Parmesan; Indian with whole spices, ginger, and garlic; or sublimely simple with just salt and olive oil. You can’t really go wrong. Just use a very hot oven (400-450 F) and make sure the garlic is spread out in a single layer and not crowded (otherwise it will steam).

If you need recipes, here are two different versions of roasted cauliflower that sound like winners.

From Slashfood, the roasted cauliflower teams up with a little bit of bacon in this recipe.

And Food 52’s recent cauliflower recipe winner features gremolata breadcrumbs. I make a similar dish but I toss the cauliflower and garlicky crumbs with orecchiette pasta and top it with Parmesan cheese. The play of different textures in the dish is revelatory.

If you want to pair your cauliflower with protein into a one-dish meal, try this recipe for Curried Red Lentils and Cauliflower from Eating Well.

If it’s soup you’re craving, take my recipe for Curried Cauliflower Soup with Mustard Seed Oil for a spin.

Image: Linda N via Flickr

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