I love trying new recipes and this one was no exception.  I had a beautiful huge cauliflower in the kitchen just begging to be sliced into steaks and I also had some Medjool dates in the cupboard which were starting to dry a little so needed to be used pronto.    All the other ingredients were either in my fridge or store cupboard so it was a good meal to make.

I doubled the quantity of relish to use up my dates but we managed to eat it all as it was so very tasty.  I blitzed the onion and dates in a Nutribullet for ease and then stirred in the lemon juice.

I have to thank Minimalist Baker for this delicious recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

1 large cauliflower, or 2 small cauliflowers

Almond Buttermilk:
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Coating:
1 ½ sea salt plus extra to season cauliflower
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¾ teaspoon garlic powder
1 ½ teaspoon curry powder (I used a medium curry powder)
1 ½ teaspoons smoked paprika
3 tablespoons arrowroot or cornflour
1 – 2 tablespoons avocado oil, or oil of choice

Lemony Date Relish:
3 Pitted medjool dates
1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons lemon juice

METHOD:

Line a couple of large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Make the relish by either finely chopping the onion and dates or blitzing them briefly in a Nutribullet or similar.   Mix with the lemon juice and set aside.

Date and Lemon Relish

Trim the leaves and stem off the cauliflower but be careful not to remove the centre of the stem.   Place the cauliflower stem side down and carefully cut thick steaks.   The ends tend to crumble but the centre of the cauliflower should yield three to four steaks which hold together.   The ends are just as nice in small pieces so don’t throw away.

Steam the cauliflower for just 4 minutes to start the cooking process and ensure the steaks are tender.  Remove from the steamer and allow to cool slightly.   Don’t oversteam as they will fall apart!

Meanwhile, make the buttermilk in a shallow dish (large enough to hold a cauliflower steak) by mixing the almond milk with the lemon juice.

Make the crust by putting all the ingredients into a food processor or Nutribullet and blitz until semi-fine.  It’s nice to have a bit of texture so not too powdery.   Put this crust mix into another shallow dish.   It looks a lot but I used every bit in coating my cauliflower.

Dip the steamed cauliflower into the buttermilk making sure it is fully “wetted” and pop the steaks on a plate and season with sea salt.

Take each steak and lay in the crust mix, coating both top and bottom thoroughly. Place on the prepared baking sheets and drizzle with a little avocado oil.

Bake for approximately 30 minutes at 425°F (218°C) until golden brown and crispy, turning over half-way through cooking.   Make sure they are tender by inserting a sharp knife or cocktail stick into the stem and it should feel soft.

Serve with the lemony date relish and a side salad.

Cashew Coated Cauliflower Steak with a side salad

NB:  All photographs used in this blog have been taken by me, and are of food I have prepared and served myself.