Chili Roasted Cauliflower Over Spicy Romesco Sauce
Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes | Serves: 4 – 6
Romesco is a very flavorful, versatile sauce on its own, but add some flair with chiles and a beautiful head of roasted cauliflower, and you have a vegetarian dream come true.
Looking into the origin of this sauce, of course, there were conflicting dates; however, a couple of things were consistent…it was developed by fishermen to use as a condiment to serve with meals they prepared with their catch off the coast of Catalonia, Spain. Talk about “fresh catch of the day.”
Romesco sauce’s base is tomatoes and roasted red peppers. Toasted almonds may sound a bit unique if you’re used to only sprinkling them over stir-fry. Yes, you do taste them, and you’ll be quite glad about it.
If it helps to prep a couple of days in advance, feel free to do so. You may roast the peppers, toast the almonds, and reconstitute the chiles the day before. Or, you may make the complete Romesco Sauce up to 3 days in advance.
My recipe calls for you to char the red bell peppers under your oven’s broiler or over a gas cooktop flame. Yes, it would be easier to twist a store-bought jar of roasted red peppers and dump it into your blender, but the flavor will be much more “pure” by roasting yourself. I tasted the store-bought and homemade side by side. There is a difference. Jarred peppers are preserved with citric acid, so they have a bit of salty/sourness. It’s not bad; it’s just not as pure a red bell pepper as it can be. Plus, it does not take a whole lot of time to char your peppers yourself, but it does take your full attention. Don’t cremate the peppers; only blacken the skins.
Using dried chiles for heat, smokiness, and flavor is the way to go versus chile/chili powders. Plus, there’s just something wholesome, fulfilling, and therapeutic about making food yourself. I chose morita/chipotle chiles on purpose. You may choose other varieties of dried chiles that may be more accessible to you. Pasilla, guajillo, etc. are good substitutes.
Roasting a whole head of cauliflower instead of florets does take a bit longer, but the presentation is lovely.
Serve as a side dish if you are serving a protein and need something colorful and delicious!
Enjoy!
Chili Roasted Cauliflower Over Spicy Romesco Sauce
Equipment
- pastry brush
- disposable gloves,
- Parchment paper
- Long-handled tongs
- Kitchen shears/scissors
- Blender
Ingredients
Romesco Sauce:
- 3 chipotle/morita dried chiles
- 1/2 cup very hot water
- 1/2 cup raw almonds
- 2 large red bell peppers, or 1 1/2 cups (8 oz) from a jar of roasted red peppers
- 2 garlic cloves
- 4 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1/4 cup Italian parsley leaves, loosely packed
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika, hot or sweet
- 4 - 5 tablespoons red wine vinegar, to taste
- 1/2 - 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional for heat
- 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, olive oil, or an infused olive oil, more if needed
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, or to taste (adjust amount for fine sea salt)
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly-cracked black pepper, or to taste
Cauliflower:
- 1 whole head cauliflower
- 1/2 cup filtered water
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, olive oil, or an infused olive oil
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and warm
- 2 teaspoons dark chili powder
- 2 teaspoons chipotle chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ancho chili powder (or 1 teaspoon arbol chili powder for heat)
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, hot or mild
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon roasted garlic powder, or garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly-cracked black pepper
- 1/2 - 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper, optional for heat
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, or to taste
- 1/4 cup Italian parsley leaves, or cilantro
Instructions
Make the Romesco Sauce:
- (While the chiles are hydrating in hot water, you’ll char the peppers and toast the almonds in the oven.)
- In a dry pan/skillet over medium-high heat, toast the chiles until they are very fragrant and you just begin to see a bit of smoke rising from the pan. Pull the pan off the heat and place the chiles in a small bowl or 1-cup glass measuring cup.
- Pour the hot water over the chiles. Allow them to sit at room temperature while you continue with the recipe. (I will use a spoon or a very small bowl to submerge the chiles.)
- Preheat the oven to high broil. Set the top rack about 6” below the coils. Line a small, rimmed baking sheet with foil, or you can use a small baking dish, like an 8x8”.
- Place the peppers on the baking sheet and broil for 2 to 4 minutes, or until the top is charred. Using tongs, carefully rotate the peppers and continue to char until blackened all over. Your oven will be very hot. Be careful.
- Once both peppers are blackened all over, remove the pan from the oven. Carefully wrap the foil from the baking sheet around the peppers and allow them to sit for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Turn the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Unwrap the foil and allow the peppers to cool until you can handle them and pull the charred skin off, discarding the skin. Open the peppers and remove the seeds and stem and discard. (See Notes on making the peppers in advance.) Place the peppers in a blender.
- Place the almonds on the same baking sheet you used for the peppers. You may line it with parchment paper, or just use the clean baking sheet.
- Toast the almonds for 8 minutes. Stir and toast again for 5 to 6 minutes, or until they are very fragrant and lightly browned. (Don’t over-brown them or they will be bitter-tasting.) Pour them onto a clean plate or cutting board to cool.
- Your chiles should be nicely pliable by now. Using clean kitchen scissors or your hands (disposable gloves help here!), cut open the chiles, remove the seeds and stems and discard. Place the chiles in the blender with the peppers. Strain the chile’s liquid through cheesecloth to remove any grit that may be left in the bowl. Set the liquid aside; do not discard it.
- Add the garlic, tomato paste, parsley, paprika, red wine vinegar, cayenne and red pepper flakes if using, and the oil to the blender.
- Add the cooled almonds.
- Puree the mixture until it is the consistency you prefer, adding small amounts of either the strained chile liquid or more oil, or a combination of both, as needed for the sauce to be able to flow in the blender. Some prefer a very smooth velvety sauce, others prefer some texture. You will be stopping and scraping often. A silicone spatula is helpful here.
- Set the mixture aside if you are going to make the roasted cauliflower now. Cover the sauce well and refrigerate if you are making the cauliflower at a later time. The sauce can be refrigerated for up to 4 days.
Make the Roasted Cauliflower:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Cut off the leaves from the cauliflower. Cut the stalk so that the cauliflower can sit level in a baking dish or Dutch oven. You may lightly shave off any floret’s edges to help with stability.
- Place the cauliflower on a piece of parchment paper, then lower the paper into your baking dish/Dutch oven. Pour the water into the parchment paper (under the cauliflower), not in the bottom of the Dutch oven.
- Place the Dutch oven’s lid onto the base, or cover the baking dish with foil, and bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a sharp knife can be inserted into the florets with a little give. You don’t want the cauliflower fully cooked at this point, just barely tender. Your cook time depends on the size of your cauliflower and the heat of your oven.
- Remove the dish from the oven. Carefully lift the parchment paper out, slightly tipping so that the water pours back into the dish/Dutch oven. Place the parchment with the cauliflower onto a cutting board or plate. Pour out the water from the Dutch oven/dish. Allow the cauliflower to sit and dry slightly while you prepare the oil mixture.
- In a small bowl, combine the oil, butter, and remaining ingredients (spices and seasonings). Taste and adjust any seasonings.
- Using a pastry bush, brush the entire exterior of the cauliflower thoroughly with the oil mixture. Turn the head upside-down and brush as much of the interior as you can. Continue to brush the whole cauliflower and use all of the oil mixture.
- Lift the parchment with the head of cauliflower back into the baking dish/Dutch oven. Do not cover. Bake in the oven for another 20 to 30 minutes, or until the cauliflower is nicely browned and tender. Check by inserting a sharp knife into the cauliflower, all the way to the stalk.
- Gently reheat the Romesco sauce.
- To serve, you may slice the head of cauliflower into slabs or wedges. Serve very warm over Romesco Sauce. Sprinkle with the parsley or cilantro.
Notes
The chiles can be reconstituted up to 2 days in advance. Do not discard the liquid.
The almonds can be toasted, cooled, and kept in an airtight container for up to 2 days. The sauce can be pureed with an immersion blender, but be careful to not incorporate too much air. You don’t want a mousse. Jarred roasted red peppers will contain salt, citric acid, and maybe some other ingredients to preserve them. You may have to adjust your salt if you use a jar. I knew I wanted heat from chiles, and crunchtimekitchens.com inspired me!
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