I’m very much on board with the whole roasted cauliflower.
As long as I can smother it in cheese. Enough said!
While I might not be able to agree with calling cauliflower “steak” – I totally fine with rubbing spices on a whole one or coating it in goat cheese or another delicious substance before roasting the heck out of it.
It’s flavor city, I tell you. There is so much flavor here that it’s unbelievable!
MY OTHER RECIPES
This can be a side dish. It can be a snack or appetizer. It can be a dinner, if you’re into eating fondue for dinner. (spoiler alert: I am.) We can do so many activities with whole roasted cauliflower!
Fondue has always been a weirdly nostalgic thing for me. I’ve written about it so many times, but my mom, being the music arts student in the 70s that she was, basically became a fondue pro.
It was so special when she would make fondue for us as kids. We’d have so many dippers and we’d all sit in the family room around the coffee table and go to town. And we never knew when she would be making it, so it was always a surprise treat.
Instead of making cauliflower to serve WITH fondue, I decided to use the cauliflower as the base for the fondue. Give the cauliflower a cheese blanket, if you will. After all, it’s cold outside!
I’ve been dyyying over this cheddar beer cheese cauliflower ever since Joy made it and I knew I had to start making some at home!
Here’s how I do it!
A lot of recipes suggest boiling the whole cauliflower first. I mean, I’m super into high maintenance recipes but I didn’t think I HAD to do that. So I skipped the boiling and just roasted mine a touch longer. It worked perfectly!
The whole roasted cauliflower itself is delish. It’s spiced and tastes phenomenal – you know how for years I’ve told you that I think roasted cauliflower kind of tastes like popcorn in a way? This is like a giant bulb of that! So good.
But.
Of course we have to make it better. And a little more festive.
Right before serving this (and I do mean RIGHT BEFORE), make a fondue then pour it over top. Yes. Pour that cheese sauce directly on top and slice. If you’d like, you can add some festive sprinkles in the form of pomegranate arils and chives. I actually love the flavor combo of those (I first used them in my Christmas wedge Salad that you can find in Seriously Delish!) and they make it look seasonal and CUTE.
That’s exactly what we all need. Cute cauliflower.
Whole Roasted Cauliflower Fondue
Whole Roasted Cauliflower Fondue
This whole roasted cauliflower fondue is roasted to toasty perfection and then covered in a fondue cheese sauce! Sprinkled with a festive garnish, it’s the perfect appetizer or side dish for your dinner party, weeknight meal or movie night!
Ingredients:
- 1 large head of cauliflower
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
fondue sauce
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 1/2 cups freshly grated gruyere cheese
- 1 1/4 cups freshly grated emmentaler cheese (or another form of swiss cheese)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/2 tablespoon brandy (cherry brandy is best!
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Spray a baking dish or pie plate with nonstick spray.
Slice the stem gently and remove leaves from the bottom of the cauliflower – allowing it to remain intact. Place it in the baking dish and rub the oil all over the cauliflower.
In a small bowl, stir together the salt, pepper, garlic, smoked paprika and cumin. Rub the cauliflower all over with the spice mix.
Roasted the cauliflower for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the cauliflower is fork tender. It it starts to get too brown on top, you can always tend it with foil.
Right before serving, make your fondue!
In a small saucepan, bring the wine to a simmer over medium heat. Add the garlic. Toss all of the grated cheese with the cornstarch. Reduce the heat to low. Add the cheese to wine in small batches, stirring constantly until smooth. Add the nutmeg. Pour as much of the fondue sauce over the cauliflower and leave extract for dipping. Enjoy!
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Just look at that wedge!
