Snack in bloom
Cauliflower blossoms into movie-night favorite.
Years ago, I was attempting to reverse my daughter Valentine’s disdain for cauliflower. She was always my veggie-loving kiddo, so I was stumped by her dislike of one my favorites. Who doesn’t love roasted cauliflower florets, with those crispy caramelized golden edges?
She loved artichoke — pulling apart the leaves and scraping them on her teeth. So, why not create a pullapart version of cauliflower? I roasted it whole on a lower temperature (about 350 F) for nearly an hour, and then pumped up the heat to 400 F for some browning. I then seasoned the whole head of cauliflower with a little lemon butter or cheese. The idea worked: all four of my kids had fun pulling apart the cauliflower, eating little florets like finger food.
Over the years, cauliflower morphed from dinner table favorite to movie night snack food, right alongside popcorn. The recipe has changed a little: I’ve found that steaming the cauliflower a few minutes first cuts the cook-time in half and the florets are easier to pull apart.
And, I’ve upped my seasoning, for example slathering on a garlicky cheese mixture spiked with just a touch of hot sauce to remind me of the Buffalo wings of my college days, when I thought nothing of downing a half-dozen fried wings, skin and all.
With today’s recipe for Cheesy Pull-Apart Whole Cauliflower, the high-cal buttery and cheesy coating packs a garlic punch, even though each serving has relatively little of it, so healthy eating goals stay on track. And while we’re enjoying movie-time or game-time nibbles, it’s nice to know that we’re actually getting a little nutrition in our bodies, too.
Food Network star Melissa d’Arabian is an expert on healthy eating on a budget. She is the author of the cookbook, “Supermarket Healthy.”