Roasted Piri Piri Cauliflower "Steaks"
with couscous / romaine salad
Portuguese-style "Piri Piri" is a spicy bell pepper sauce traditionally used on chicken. In this veggie version, we use it to flavor up tender cauliflower "steaks." The savory flavor of the sauce deepens as it cooks, but we love the contrast that comes from serving a bit of the uncooked, fresh Piri Piri sauce alongside the finished dish with couscous and a crisp salad.
Ingredients
- Garlic - 1 clove, peeled
- Shallots - 1 bulb, peeled
- Roasted red peppers (16 oz / 454 g) - 3/4 jar, drained and rinsed
- Paprika, smoked - 2 tsp
- Salt - 1 tsp
- Oregano, dried - 1/2 tsp
- Red pepper flakes (opt) - 1/2 tsp
- Vinegar, red wine - 1 tsp
- Lemon juice - 1 tsp
- Lemon zest - 1 tsp
- Cauliflower, large - 1 head, sliced
- Oil, cooking - 2 Tbsp
- Stock, any variety - 3/4 cup (sub water)
- Salt - 1/2 tsp
- Butter - 2 Tbsp
- Couscous - 3/4 cup
- Lettuce, romaine - 2 hearts, chopped
- Green onions - 1 stalk, thinly sliced
- Mustard, Dijon - 2 tsp
- Mayonnaise - 2 tsp
- Lemon juice - 3 tsp
- Honey - 1 tsp
- Paprika, smoked - 1/4 tsp
- Oil, olive - 2 Tbsp
- Avocados - 1, chopped
Nutrition Facts
Prep
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Make Piri Piri Sauce - Peel garlic and shallots. Drain and rinse bell peppers. Combine garlic, shallots, bell peppers, paprika (the portion for the cauliflower), salt, oregano, red pepper flakes, vinegar and lemon zest and juice (the portion for the cauliflower) in the bowl of a food processor. Blend until smooth (add water a bit at a time if needed to help it come together). (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
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Cauliflower - Slice cauliflower from the top through the stem to create 1" / 2.5cm thick "steaks". (Can be done up to 3 days ahead)
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Lettuce / Green onions - Prep as directed. Store separately. (Can be done 1 day ahead)
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Make
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Preheat oven to 425F / 218C degrees. Coat a sheet pan with nonstick cooking spray or brush with some oil. (Note: Use an additional sheet pan if necessary in order to hold all of the cauliflower steaks without overlapping.) Position oven rack in the middle of the oven.
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Place cauliflower steaks in a single layer on sheet pan. Brush both sides with cooking oil and season with some salt and pepper. Roast cauliflower for 15 minutes. Remove cauliflower from oven and flip. Brush half the Piri Piri sauce (reserve the other half for serving) over cauliflower and continue roasting until tender, 10 to 15 minutes more.
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While cauliflower roasts, combine stock, salt (portion for the couscous) and butter in a saucepan. Cover and bring to boil. Remove from heat. Stir in couscous and cover with lid. Let stand for ~5 minutes before fluffing with a fork.
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When cauliflower is nearly finished cooking, whisk together mustard, mayonnaise, lemon juice (the portion for the salad), honey, paprika (the portion for the salad) and olive oil. Chop avocados. Just before serving, toss lettuce, green onions and avocados together with dressing.
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Serve cauliflower over couscous with remaining half of the Piri Piri sauce and salad on the side. Enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
Reviews
Ratings
50 reviews
Made some adjustments to make this keto, mainly eliminating the parsnips and the honey from the dressing. Instead of the red pepper flakes I added a half a hot chili I had left over from another meal. Really good and a nice level of spice. Will make again.
0 HelpfulThis tasted amazing! I used potatoes instead of parsnips and it was so tasty! I love the sauce! My cat even loved it so much he was licking my plate. Just a couples pointers for my future self (because i am definitely making this again) put oil on the sheet before adding the potatoes bc they will stick! The prep makes it easy to cook day of, however it does take a long time to bake bc of the potatoes. Just make sure there’s enough time to bake everything before it’s time to serve.
0 HelpfulThe sauce was too salty, but otherwise it was great! I put half the sauce in the freezer so we can have this again soon.
0 Helpful