Why is my roasted cauliflower mushy?

Roasted Cauliflower Cooking Prep First, grab a baking tray large enough for the cauliflower to sit in a single layer. Overcrowding the baking tray will result in mushy and not evenly cooked cauliflower . Choosing a proper cooking fat ensures roasted cauliflower goodness.

Why isn't my roasted cauliflower crispy?

Like all veggies, cauliflower needs some breathing room on the pan . Otherwise, the florets will produce so much steam that they'll never turn crisp on the edges. It's better to use two pans, arranged on separate racks near the middle of the oven, than to cram too much onto one pan.

Why do you soak cauliflower before cooking?

If you're planning to roast the cauliflower whole or slice it into steaks, slice off the thick stem at the base. Drop the whole cauliflower head upside-down into cool, salted water. Let it soak for 10 to 15 minutes to remove dirt, residue and bugs .

How to cook cauliflower Rachael Ray?

In a covered Dutch oven, heat the extra-virgin olive oil over medium to medium-high heat. Cut the core away from the cauliflower and set the head into the pot and add the stock. Cover and steam until tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove and separate the cauliflower into florets.

How do you take the bitterness out of cauliflower?

All the vegetables form the Brassica family have a bitter component to their flavour. Brassica is the family that includes cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli and Brussels sprouts. You can actually remove quite a lot of it by leeching it out in to the water, or by using salt .

How do you squeeze moisture out of cauliflower?

Transfer the riced cauliflower to the center of a clean dish towel. Arrange the towel filled with cauliflower over a small bowl, then squeeze as much liquid as you can out of the cooked cauliflower . It might not feel like there's excess moisture at first, but you may be surprised by how much liquid is released!

How do you keep cauliflower from getting mushy?

The key to nonmushy cauliflower lies in how you cut it: Break apart the large head into smaller florets. Now take your knife, and starting at the stem end of the floret, slice about halfway down and snap apart .

How do you fix mushy roasted vegetables?

The Oven Temp Is Too Low But, they'll turn out soft and soggy instead of crispy and caramelized. The solution: Turn the oven temperature up to 400°F to 425°F . The high heat will quickly coax out all those naturally sweet flavors while keeping the vegetable tender-crisp. Everything will be golden brown and delicious!

How to get moisture out of cauliflower?

Transfer the riced cauliflower to the center of a clean dish towel. Arrange the towel filled with cauliflower over a small bowl, then squeeze as much liquid as you can out of the cooked cauliflower . It might not feel like there's excess moisture at first, but you may be surprised by how much liquid is released!

Why is my cauliflower soft?

First, take care not to overcrowd your pan; if the cauliflower is packed in rim-to-rim, the moisture will not be able to escape as the florets cook , which will result in soft steamed cauliflower instead of roasted.

Ina Garten's Cauliflower Toasts Recipe on Food52 (2024)

Broil

by: Food52

October1,2018

4.3

27 Ratings

Ina Garten's Cauliflower Toasts Recipe on Food52 (1)

Prep time 20 minutes
Cook time 35 minutes
Serves 6

Jump to Recipe

Author Notes

Cauliflower is, in my opinion, a highly underappreciated vegetable. Roasting brings out its flavor. Lots of Gruyère and prosciutto add flavor and texture. Always cut cauliflower from the stem end, not the top. You’ll keep the florets intact and avoid getting cauliflower crumbles all over your counter.

Helpful tools for this recipe:
- Kosterina Green Olive Oil
- Global Classic Knife Collection
- Five Two Double-Sided Bamboo Cutting Board

Recipes and photographs reprinted from Cook Like a Pro: Recipes & Tips for Home Cooks. Copyright © 2018 by Ina Garten. Photographs by Quentin Bacon. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC. —Food52

Test Kitchen-Approved

What You'll Need

Ingredients

1 small head cauliflower (2 pounds)
4 tablespoonsgood olive oil
¹/₄ teaspooncrushed red pepper flakes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
12 ouncesItalian mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
6 ouncesGruyère cheese, grated
4 ouncesthinly sliced prosciutto, julienned
¹/₄ teaspoonground nutmeg
6 large slices country-style bread
Paprika
Freshly grated Italian Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoonsminced fresh chives
Flaked sea salt, such as Maldon

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Turn the cauliflower upside down on a cutting board. Cut off and discard most but not all of the stems, then cut the florets into small, 1/2-inch clusters. Place the florets on a sheet pan, toss them with the olive oil, red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon black pepper, and spread them out in a single layer. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, tossing two or three times, until the florets are tender and randomly browned. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
Set the oven to broil and arrange a rack 6 inches below the heat.
Transfer the florets to a large mixing bowl and add the mascarpone, stirring to coat the florets evenly. Stir in the Gruyère, prosciutto, nutmeg, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon black pepper.
Toast the bread in a toaster until lightly browned, and place in a single layer on a sheet pan lined with foil. Mound the cauliflower mixture evenly on each toast and dust with paprika. Broil the toasts for 2 to 4 minutes, until browned and bubbling. (Watch them carefully!) Transfer to plates and sprinkle with Parmesan, the chives, and sea salt. Serve hot.

Tags:

Toast
American
Prosciutto
Cauliflower
Chive
Paprika
Nutmeg
Sheet Pan
Roast
Broil
Lunch
Dinner

See what other Food52ers are saying.

karin.anderson.52
MBE
Michelle
Joelle Bradley
Mandy Sunde

Popular on Food52

23 Reviews

Ro R. February 17, 2024

Hmm, my high hopes for this one were not realized. Noting that I did not add prosciutto to keep this vegetarian, otherwise I would have rated this even lower. This is an incredibly fatty meal, and not in a good way. Even though I increased the spicing, it was bland, as the spicing just vanished (the ham would improve that somewhat). Half the marscapone would be ample for this recipe, perhaps cut with something less fatty like yogurt or sour cream to add some more moisture. It was really a waste of a good cauliflower; there are many rice and cauliflower bakes that are tastier and 1000% healthier than this recipe. I recommend not wasting the money on high priced ingredients that are not well shown off by this recipe. Save your marscapone to make a tiramisu instead.

Chef N. January 25, 2024

This was a great first bite, I put it on some hearty ciabatta rolls, however it was way salty and I love salt. I feel like we stumbled on Ina's drunk night recipe and I love her for it. But I wish I had skipped the added salt. It only needed the salt on the cauli.

Nellie D. November 16, 2023

I only used one teaspoon of salt and left out half the gruyere and it was still too salty. Otherwise very good!

Kiki September 8, 2023

This was delicious! Because I don’t eat meat, I substituted the prosciutto for caramelized onions, but otherwise followed the recipe as written. YUM! Thank you for sharing!

Ashley July 28, 2023

Italian mascarpone cheese and Gruyère cheese are really expensive for me to eat this on the regular. Are there any substitutes to these cheese that give this toast similar taste/texture?

Mandy S. July 28, 2023

I would say Ricotta or cream cheese for marscapone, but it won't have the same silky texture. For gruyere I would say swiss is doable or a harder sharper white cheese. Hope this helps, it is really is a good recipe.

Trevor M. September 30, 2023

Sour cream was an amazing g sub for macaroons, where I live, fancy cheeses are hard to find, ricotta and macaroons were not an option and cream cheese was too sweet for me for this purpose.

karin.anderson.52 July 22, 2023

See Also

Stuffing Muffins Recipe

Very nice! I omitted the salt in the cauliflower-cheese mixture, and skipped the sea salt topping. With the cheese and prosciutto the toast are are definitely salty enough. I will make them again.

MBE March 4, 2022

So indeed the leftovers made a great pasta dish! Cooked some rigatoni, added some leftover cubed chicken breast and a bit of heavy cream. Baked until hot and bubbly and served it with steamed broccoli because I was

MBE February 25, 2022

Yum! The only thing I would question is the additional tsp of salt added to the mascarpone mixture considering the salt from the cauliflower, cheese and prosciutto. I made sourdough no knead bread that was perfect. Also used a bit of crème fraiche, cream cheese and mascarpone (using up dribs and drabs) and substituted sharp white cheddar for the Gruyere. Cooking for two so made a full batch of the cauliflower then half of it with the other ingredients. Didn't need all of that either, so now I have leftovers to play with!! I'm thinking pasta.

sharskee January 11, 2021

Really delicious! I didn't have gruyere and used white cheddar and skipped the prosciutto since I'm vegetarian. Would make again. would also be good cut into smaller pieces and served as an appetizer.

brushjl October 26, 2020

this is why I am not a chef, would never have dreamed of this exquisite combination. just superb.

Michelle August 18, 2020

This was amazing! I will be making this again

Joelle B. June 28, 2020

We had beautiful home made bagels. We sliced each into three toasts. Very delicious, but really dry. Need some creamier sauce. What could that be that is really easy? Whipping cream? Sour cream? Ideas please

Karen H. August 9, 2020

I would add a little more mascarpone, and maybe stir in a little cream or sour cream, like you suggest...and because you are adding bland ingredients, bump up the flavorings in the recipe (pepper flakes, salt and pepper, nutmeg, and chives).

Joelle B. August 10, 2020

Thanks Karen!

Jacque January 7, 2022

??? Cream cheese.

Mandy S. October 11, 2018

This was so tasty!! Easy to make and so savory, nutty, and cheesy.

Lisa October 7, 2018

How about this topping on fresh pizza dough? Takes a little longer, but worth it, I think.

Juliebell October 7, 2018

Great idea! I was wondering about rye or sourdough toast.

alw2276 February 14, 2021

Great idea! I was going quesadilla with it. Seems very versatile.

alw2276 February 14, 2021

Rye sounds good

[emailprotected] June 7, 2023

On garlic naan?! 😍