Cauliflower Toasts | Cooking Like a Pro

The many uses of cauliflower continue to surprise me. I put cauliflower in pizza, pasta and salad. There are the easy choices of roasting and steaming. What about roasting a cauliflower whole and then slicing it like a piece of steak. (No pre work, but delivers big flavor.) You may consider blitzing one in the food processor and turn it into cauliflower rice. Now you can find cauliflower rice regularly in the freezer section in the stores. By the time you think there are no new ways of using cauliflower, here is another. Try cauliflower toasts from Ina Garten’s Cooking like a Pro.

In my sourdough kitchen, making cauliflower toasts is a natural extension to bread baking. There may be more than a few simple steps than the no-cooking avocado toasts. Nevertheless, a warm toast topped with melty cheese and savory prosciutto will get you going. When you have a brunch gathering on the weekend, it’s worth the time to put out some cauliflower toasts. They will surely please everyone.

First, roast the cauliflower, cut the small forets pieces. When the cauliflower is in the oven, prepare the cheese spread with gruyère and mascarpone cheese. Be generous with the cheeses since you want the cheese melting and gluing the cauliflower florets in clusters. Next, mix the cheeses and prosciutto together with the roasted cauliflower. Then spread the cauliflower mixture on toasts. Finally, put the toasts under the broiler until they turn golden brown. Watch the broiler carefully. It’s done when the toasts are bubbly and the cheeses melty. Opt for a darker broil (than mine). It’s an experience eating one of these!

Print Recipe

Cauliflower Toasts | Cooking Like a Pro

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• 1 small head cauliflower (2 pounds)
• 4 tablespoons good olive oil
• ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 12 ounces Italian mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
• 6 ounces Gruyère cheese, grated
• 4 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, julienned
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 6 large slices country-style bread
• Paprika
• Freshly grated Italian Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh chives
• Flaked sea salt, such as Maldon

Instructions

1

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2

Turn the cauliflower upside down on a cutting board. Cut off and discard most but not all of the stems, then cut the florets into small, ½-inch clusters. Place the florets on a sheet pan, toss them with the olive oil, red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon black pepper, and spread them out in a single layer. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, tossing two or three times, until the florets are tender and randomly browned. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.

3

Set the oven to broil and arrange a rack 6 inches below the heat.

4

Transfer the florets to a large mixing bowl and add the mascarpone, stirring to coat the florets evenly. Stir in the Gruyère, prosciutto, nutmeg, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon black pepper.

5

Toast the bread in a toaster until lightly browned, and place in a single layer on a sheet pan lined with foil. Mound the cauliflower mixture evenly on each toast and dust with paprika. Broil the toasts for 2 to 4 minutes, until browned and bubbling. (Watch them carefully!) Transfer to plates and sprinkle with Parmesan, the chives, and sea salt. Serve hot.

Notes

https://barefootcontessa.com/recipes/cauliflower-toasts