This baked cauliflower recipe is inspired by a dish from one of my favourite Sydney restaurants Ester. The cauliflower (including the leaves) is baked or roasted until golden brown and served with dairy-free, creamy cashew white sauce and toasted garlic almonds. It’s delicious and a little bit of fancy.
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Recipes Notes
This recipe is easy but it does require prior preparation of nuts so make sure to start it a few hours ahead. You can also pre-soak the cashews in the morning. Prepare the cashew puree and the crumbs while the cauliflower pieces are baked to get this meal on the table quickly.
Nutritional yeast is a form of deactivated yeast that has a lovely, nutty, cheese-like flavour and comes in the form of light yellow flakes. You can get it from most stores these days and it can be used to sprinkle over zucchini pasta or your favourite salads, and when making a paleo or vegan-friendly cheese.
This dish is paleo, gluten-free and Whole30 friendly. Omit anchovies for a vegetarian and vegan version or if you dislike anchovies, although the flavour is not very noticeable in this dish.
This baked cauliflower with white sauce would go well with any type of meat but I’d recommend it with white meat like chicken, turkey, pork, duck or with white fish or prawns. I hope you love it!
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Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 head cauliflower broken into florets (you can use the leaves too)
- 1/2 tsp salt
For the white sauce
- ⅔ cup cashews raw and unsalted, soaked in water for 4–6 hours
- 3 tablespoons olive oil extra-virgin
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast see notes above
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ clove garlic large, chopped
- 1½ tablespoons lemon juice
- ⅓ cup water
For the crumbs
- ⅓ cup almond flakes or silvered almonds
- 3 small anchovies finely diced
- 1 clove garlic finely diced
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200° C / 400° F (conventional).
- Cut the cauliflower, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt. Toss through rubbing the oil into the cauliflower along the way. Add the cauliflower, season with a few pinches of sea salt and toss through. Scatter on a flat, lined baking sheet and bake (roast) for 30 minutes, turning halfway through, then remove from the oven and set aside. If roasting cauliflower leaves, add those to the oven halfway through as they don't need as much time to roast.
- While the cauliflower is roasting, strain and rinse the cashews and place in a blender or a food processor along with the remaining sauce ingredients. Process the mixture into a smooth, thick puree, scraping the sides along the way, for 2 minutes. Smear the puree over a large platter.
- Heat a small frying pan over medium–high heat, then add the almonds and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the anchovies and garlic and stir through until well incorporated, then add the butter or ghee and lemon juice, stir through and cook for a further 30 seconds.
- Scatter the baked cauliflower florets over the puree on the platter and sprinkle with the toasted almonds, anchovies and garlic.
This looks amazing, I love your recipes and I will definitely give this one a go, as I have all the ingredients 🙂
I have made this dish at least four times since you posted the recipe- I have a hard time wanting to prepare cauliflower any other way now. Absolutely fabulous, Thank you!
Thank you Emily! I am so glad you like it.