Herb, Cheese & Garlic-Baked Cauliflower

There is nothing primal about baking a cauliflower with cheese and herbs and garlic. But it makes a pretty good dinner.

So here is a quick recipe from my kitchen, something that was literally created with some leftover ingredients lying in the fridge. Like the fresh parsley from Maria’s Piri-Piri Chicken and all that cheese from LMN’s birthday party.

I got a beautiful head of cauliflower from the Farmer’s Market for just two dollars. And instead of making my rather favourite Chingri-Phulkopi, I baked it with whatever was at home!

Ingredients for Herb, Cheese & Garlic-Baked Cauliflower are:

1 medium size head of cauliflower, trim leaves and outer stems
Half to one cup grated cheese (I used a mix of grated Parmesan, Mozzarella and Cheddar)
Handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped + one more tablespoon chopped leaves + few stems for decoration
5-6 fat cloves of garlic, peel on (Use more, I regret not throwing in a whole pod!)
Juice of half a lime/lemon
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Freshly cracked black pepper
Salt

Pre-heat oven to 350°F.

Place the beautiful-looking head of cauliflower on a pie dish (or use a baking sheet).

Crack black pepper directly on the cauliflower. Season with salt.

Tuck in stems of parsley in the space between the flowerets.

Now heap the grated cheese and chopped fresh parsley on the cauliflower.  Throw in the unpeeled cloves of garlic too.

Drizzle olive oil covering the cauliflower and garlic cloves.

Bake for an hour.

In a glass jar or bottle add the remaining fresh parsley and pound with a wooden pestle. Add the EVOO and lemon juice. Mix and keep.

When the cauliflower is ready, drizzle the EVOO and parsley dressing all over, covering the cauliflower and the baked garlic.

Cut chunks of the baked cauliflower and serve. Taste the roasted, creamy, sweet garlic with each bite of the baked cauliflower. Enjoy with a baguette and a glass of good white.