Cauliflower Steak with beet Potato Mash, balsamic reduction drizzle
Serves 2- 4
Ingredients
Olive Oil
1 large head of cauliflower
1 large red onion
6 medium Yukon Gold potatoes
2 large red beets
6 large gloves of garlic
1/3 cup vegetable broth
1 ½ cups Balsamic Vinegar
1 tbsp orange juice
1 large sprig of rosemary
Salt and pepper
1 cup nondairy milk
3 tbsp chic pea flour or *aquafaba (if using aquafaba reduce milk to 3/4 cup)
3/4 cup plain breadcrumbs – more depending on how many steaks you are doing this is enough for 2 – 4 steaks
3/4 cup plain panko crumbs
1 ½ tsp each of Basil, oregano, parsley
1 tsp onion powder & garlic powder
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Beet, Potato Mash
1. Cut off beet greens. I keep these as they make a great addition to any vegetable sauté or stir fry dish. Place in zip lock bag and store.
2. Peel beats and potatoes and cut into chunks (The smaller the chunks the faster they cook) keep beets and potatoes separated. To keep from potatoes from browning place in col water. Set aside.
3. Peel and cut red onion and garlic into chunks. Put into a food processor and process to a slightly pureed texture.
4. Fill large pot with water, add approx. 1 -1 ½ tsp salt and 1 tsp black pepper. Add onion, garlic puree and beets. Bring to a boil and cook 20 minutes. After beets have cooked for 20 minutes add the potatoes. Beets cook much slower than potatoes. Cook beets and potato mixture while making cauliflower steaks. Once beet, potato mixture is soft strain the mixture in a cullender and then place back into pot. Add 3 tbsp olive oil and vegetable broth. With an emulsion blender or immersion blender cream mixture to a nice thick but creamy texture. You want this to form a creamy nest for the cauliflower steak. Here you will add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside keeping warm.
*If you do not have an emulsion blender use a hand mixer.
Balsamic Reduction
1. Pour balsamic vinegar into a sauté pan, preferably non-stick. Turn on heat to medium.
2. Add whole sprig of rosemary slowly bring to a boil. Once boiling reduce heat to a simmer and let vinegar thicken to about ½ cup stirring occasionally. Vinegar should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
3. Remove from heat gentle whisk in the orange juice. Let sit until you are ready to use leaving rosemary in until then to be sure it has grabbed the rosemary flavor. Discard rosemary before serving.
Cauliflower Steaks
1.Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
2. Wash off cauliflower, remove all outer green leaves, trim the bottom of stem off. With a sharp knife, starting from one side slice approx. 1 ½ inch steak. The first slice will fall away into chunks. Put those chunks aside. Continue cutting the steaks until you get to the other side where that last steak too will fall apart into chunks. Any of the cauliflower that falls away store for another recipe. Do the same to the second head of cauliflower if you are serving more than two people.
**1 cauliflower head should produce 3 maybe 4 steaks.
3. Get two large dishes with sides for breads crumbs and the other for milk mixture. Add milk and chic pea flour or aquafaba to one dish, combined completely whisking to create a frothy mixture.
4. Place bread crumbs in the other dish. Add dried herbs plus salt and pepper to taste and combine.
5. Dip cauliflower steaks in milk mixture and coat well flipping a few times. Then dip into bread crumb mixture making sure to coat well. Place on a sheet pan with a good layer of olive oil about 1/8 inch deep. You want them to fry up just a bit which will give them a great crunchy exterior.
6. Place in oven and bake for about 25 minutes keeping an eye on them. Flip once upside is golden brown. Bake another 5 minutes. Test with fork for texture. You do not want them too soft, think al dente with just a slight bite to the steak.
Plate & Enjoy
Spoon out the beet potato mash onto a plate creating a nice size thick circle then place steak on top of the mash and drizzle balsamic reduction back and forth over cauliflower steak.
Suggested Side: Serve with a side of buttery dilled carrots.
*Aquafaba – Chic pea (garbanzo bean) juice after chic peas have been removed. Strain chic peas over a bowl and set juice aside. Place chic peas in a tightly sealed container for later use. Great for a homemade hummus.
*The density of the cauliflower steak will determine how many full steaks you get from each head. You can usually count on 3 steaks and sometimes get 4.
* Emulsion or immersion blender works great to get mixture smooth. Hand mixer can do the trick but it takes much longer to get a smooth texture.