Cauliflower is an underrated vegetable. It’s rich in vitamin C and fibre, and it’s totally fat free and tasty of course! As well as being free from gluten and sugar if that’s how you roll.
I set myself the challenge of making a vegan meal for two, using only one cauliflower along with spices and a few other small vegetables for flavour. I made 2 ‘asian style’ vegan steaks, so delicious, char grilled, smoky, savoury and satisfying. I served the steaks on a bed of fragrant cauliflower ‘rice’, which was surprisingly filling !
This recipe would be amazing for a dinner party, or you could even cook the cauli steaks for a vegan BBQ come summer!
The key to vegan cooking is creativity, and imagination I had seen this done a few times online, but I just added whatever flavours I knew I liked and it turned out absolutely delicious. I can’t explain how good this tastes, definitely try it !
Ingredients
For the steaks;
Cut the centre of 1 large Cauliflower (all leaves removed) into 1/2 inch slices for your steak-keep the stalk intact
Marinade:
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp smoke paprika
Juice of 1 lemon
3 tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp Tamari soy sauce
1 tsp rice wine vinegar (always check the label as not all are gluten free)
1/2 inch of ginger finely minced
For the rice;
The remainder of the cauli left after you cut your steaks
1 red onion finely diced
Zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cut of sweetcorn
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste
Method:
Trim all the leaves off the cauliflower, wash gently and pat dry
Cut into the centre of the cauliflower from top to bottom, halving.
Cut one 1/2 inch steak from one side, and another from the other side- so you have two steaks
Whisk all the marinade ingredients together
Lay the steaks on a large tray or bowl and pour over the marinade- leave for 1 – 2 hours in the fridge
In the meantime trim any large pieces of stalk from the remaining florets and throw the florets into a food processor
Blitz until grainy, until the cauliflower rice forms- this won’t take long so pay attention or you’ll make a paste
Pre heat your oven to gas 5/ 190*C
After 1-2 hours, remove the steaks from the fridge, heat a non stick pan, or griddle pan if you have one and lay the steaks in, for about 3 minutes each side until charred on both sides, sprinkle with more salt and paprika at this point if you wish
Lay the 2 charred steaks onto a tray lined with parchment and cover with tin foil, bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes
While the steaks are in the oven, heat a wok on a medium heat, add a splash of oil or water whichever you prefer and add in the chopped onion, sauté for 5 minutes, then add in the cauli rice and spices and zest, cook on medium for 5 minutes, then lower the heat and cover to allow the cauli to steam through for 7-8 minutes
Season and stir in the sweetcorn to the wok just before serving
After 15 minutes test the steaks, by using a fork to prod the centre of the stalk of the cauli, if it slides in easily the steaks are ready
Serve the steaks hot on a bed of cauli rice… Delicious, cruelty free, 100% vegan and pure healthy nutrition!
