Simple Cauliflower "Steaks"

Simple Cauliflower “Steaks”

Claire Wright

Featuring:

Cauliflower

Effort:

Complexity:

Cost:

In season now

Serves: 4

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

2 heads cauliflower

olive oil

salt & pepper

optional flavourings: tamari or soy sauce, toasted sesame oil (instead of the olive oil), paprika, ground cumin and/or coriander, Chinese five spice, ground cinnamon, or some mixed dried herbs

Veg Portions / Serving: 1

Recipe created for Veg Power by Claire Wright. Food photography by Claire Wright | addsomeveg.com

Claire Wright from addsomeveg.com shares 3 simple ways to prepare cauliflower that the whole family will enjoy.

An amazing veggie meat-alternative for vegetarians, vegans or just a family Meat Free Monday, these cauliflower steaks will probably surprise your family by how sweet, delicious and filling they are.

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Remove the leaves from the cauliflower head but keep the stem. Slice the cauliflower into large “steaks” – the edge ones will probably fall apart, but you should get at least 2 decent ones out of each head (keep the ones that have fallen apart and toss with olive oil and a pinch of salt to roast alongside the steaks). Place the cauliflower steaks on a lined baking tray (or two, if needed), and brush with a little olive oil, then sprinkle with salt & pepper (and your choice of flavourings, if you are using them). Roast in the oven for 25-35 mins, until slightly catching and caramelised on the edges and cooked through but with a little bite to them still. Serve in place of steak with some homemade chips (try our veggie fries recipes) or cooked grains and vegetables. A drizzle of yogurt mixed with fresh herbs and feta, some crumbled blue cheese or a little hot sauce for the more adventurous of you is a welcome addition.

Engaging Kids

Kids who engage regularly with veg through veg-themed activities, such as arts and crafts, sensory experiences, growing and cooking are shown to be more likely to eat the veg they engage with. Encouraging kids to engage and play with veg is the handy first step to them developing a good relationship with veg and life-long healthy eating.

Kids in the kitchen

Get the kids to lay the steaks on the baking tray, brush with the oil and sprinkle over the flavourings (let them choose their own).

Activities

While getting kids to interact with veggies for real and using their senses to explore them is best, encouraging hands off activities like arts & crafts, puzzles & games or at-home science experiments can be a great start, particularly for those who are fussier eaters or struggle with anything too sensory. Use these veg-themed activities as a stepping stone to interacting with the veg themselves. We have loads of crafty downloads here, puzzles here, and quirky science with veg here.

Sensory

Once you feel your child is ready to engage a little more, you can show them how to explore the veg you have on hand with their senses, coming up with playful silly descriptions of how a veg smells, feels, looks, sounds and perhaps even tastes. Find ideas, videos and some simple sensory education session ideas to get you started here.

Serving

The moments before food is offered can be a perfect opportunity for engagement that can help make it more likely a child will eat it! Giving children a sense of ownership in the meal can make a big difference to their feelings going into it and the pride they take in it. You know your child best, but if you aren’t sure where to start, we have some fun and simple ideas for easy roles you can give them in the serving process over here.

Claire Wright

Editor: After leaving Exeter University with a degree in English Literature, Claire worked in various fields ranging from youth work and charities to publishing, before starting up a food-focused website when her first child was born. After being asked to project manage the publication of Veg Power's Crowdfunder book, Claire came on board as a fully-fledged team member in 2018 to take on the role of Communications Manager, then Editor, looking after Veg Power's website, content, recipes and social media platforms.

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