Roasted Garlic Cauliflower

I don't know about you, but cauliflower has never been one of my favorites. Because... well... it's just blah.  Plain.  No flavor.  Boring.  You get it, don't you?  Well, let me tell you what - this roasted garlic cauliflower is perfectly roasted and perfectly garlicy with a hint of lemon.  Mmmm.  This will become one of our staple sides.  I hope it does for you too!

Roasted Cauliflower - from this recipe

1 head cauliflower

2-3 cloves of garlic, peeled and coarsely minced

Lemon juice from half a lemon

Olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Cut cauliflower into florets and put in a single layer in an oven-proof baking dish.  Toss in the garlic. Sprinkle lemon juice over cauliflower and drizzle with olive oil.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Place uncovered for 25 - 30 minutes, or until the top is lightly brown.  Test with a fork.  Fork should be able to easily pierce the cauliflower. Sprinkle generously with parmesan cheese and serve immediately.

I found it easier to cut the head of cauliflower into florets first, then washed it.  I've never cut up a cauliflower before - I've always bought it pre-cut.  It makes a mess! Haha!  I took a picture, but it unfortunately didn't work out.  Just make sure to use a large cutting board.  Haha!  Once I washed it, I dried the cauliflower in a paper towel to make sure it roasted (and didn't steam) in the oven.

Then I put in the garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil.  And mixed it around.  I just used some pepper and no salt since I was going to sprinkle it with parmesan at the end.

I was baking another recipe that required a 350 degree oven.  So I cooked this recipe at 350 as well for 35 - 40 minutes.  It came out just fine!

And it was beautiful when it came out of the oven.  Sprinkle it with parmesan.  I could have licked the pan.  Mmmm.

The Verdict

I can't tell you how much I was pleasantly surprised by this recipe.  Don't know if DH loved it as much as I did.  But I will make this again.  The garlic got nice and toasty.  The juice from half a lemon made it slightly lemony.  Oh yeah, and the parmesan - that salty cheesy smell just blossomed when it hit the hot cauliflower.  Wow.  It was just a perfect blend.