Roasted Cauliflower

I never really gave cauliflower much of a thought. It was just another vegetable I didn't really know what to do with, and I didn't feel like I was missing out on much. But then I had it on that pizza at Grandaisy, and in a pasta dish (orechiette, cauliflower, toasted bread crumbs) at Bar Stuzzichini, and a new friendship was formed.

Besides, how can you say no to purple cauliflower?




1 large cauliflower, cut into small florets
1/4 c extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 heaping Tbl. plain bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Place in a large baking dish or shallow roasting pan. Sprinkle bread crumbs on top of cauliflower mixture. Cook 30-35 minutes, turning once or twice.



Easy, right? The cauliflower pictured above is actually undercooked by about 10 minutes, because I wanted to use it on pizza. You can also mix it in with pasta, or just as a side dish. And as far as that recipe goes, there are a lot of different options - you can add a bit of lemon juice and some rosemary, add more garlic if you like, or omit the bread crumbs.