If you love satisfying meals but avoid carbs as much as possible, welcome to the club! We’re happy to have you, and we understand your pain. A lot of vegetarian low-carb foods are bland and boring, and they leave you dreaming of feasts… Or worse, they have you headed for the snacks cupboard. But not these cauliflower steaks!
Roasting classic low-carb star cauliflower, and combining it with a savory and filling sauce of olives, chickpeas, tomatoes and herbs, this recipe is a dinner winner.
Roasted Cauliflower Steaks with Red Bell Pepper
We got the recipe from Clean Eating Kitchen: The Low-Carb Mediterranean Cookbook by Michelle Dudash, which focuses on – you guessed it! – the popular Mediterranean diet. The Mediterranean diet is famously easy to follow, especially when compared to other trendy diets, and it’s said to improve heart health and blood sugar management, decrease the risk of cancer, and increase longevity.
“This recipe could easily be served at any nice restaurant and will pull you out of any vegetarian food rut straight away”, says cookbook author Michelle Dudash. Plus, you could make a bigger batch of sauce and use it to save time when you’re craving this recipe again. Which will inevitably happen.
Scroll down for the roasted cauliflower steaks with red bell pepper recipe, and consider getting Clean Eating Kitchen: The Low-Carb Mediterranean Cookbook on amazon or wherever you buy your books.
Roasted Cauliflower Steaks with Red Bell Pepper
Reprinted with permission from Clean Eating Kitchen: The Low-Carb Mediterranean Cookbook by Michelle Dudash
Ingredients
For the cauliflower
- 1 small head cauliflower stem cut off
- 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons (40 ml) extra-virgin olive oil, divided, plus more for drizzling
- ½ teaspoon onion powder divided
- ½ teaspoon salt divided
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 medium red bell pepper
For the sauce
- 1/4 cup (28g) slivered almonds
- 1 tbsp tomato product (use what you have open, like marinara, sauce, paste, or fresh)
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small clove garlic peeled
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 can chickpeas rinsed, drained, and patted dry
- Fresh coarsely chopped herbs basil, parsley, or green tops of scallions
- 1/4 cup sliced kalamata olives
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 450ºF (230C, or gas mark 8) convection. Line a large baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
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To make the cauliflower: Slice the cauliflower into 4 thick “steaks,” about 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle the cauliflower with 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of the olive oil on one side, sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon of the onion powder,¼ teaspoon of the salt, and pepper, then turn and repeat with another 1 tablespoon (15 ml) oil, the remaining ¼ teaspoon onion powder, the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt, and pepper. Place the whole red pepper on the pan and drizzle with 1 teaspoon of the oil.
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Roast until the pepper is blistered and browned on all sides, about 15 minutes. Remove the pepper from the pan using tongs and place in a paper bag. Seal. Place the chickpeas on the pan and drizzle with the remaining 1 teaspoon of oil, a pinch of salt, and pepper. Turn the cauliflower. Roast until the cauliflower is browned on both sides, about 10 more minutes.
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To make the sauce: After the pepper has been in the bag for at least several minutes, carefully (it will be hot and steamy!) cut out the stem and seeds. Cut the pepper into about 8 pieces. Place the pepper in a blender and add the almonds, tomato, oil, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
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To serve, place one steak on each plate. Sprinkle with the chickpeas and drizzle with the sauce. Sprinkle with the herbs and olives. Drizzle lightly with olive oil.
