By Martha Rose Shulman
- Total Time
- About 1 hour 10 minutes, plus 10 minutes cooling time
- Rating
- 5(4,682)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Roasting is one of my favorite ways to prepare cauliflower, and I have always loved preparations that pair the vegetable with coriander seeds. I use coriander seeds and cinnamon to season the tomato sauce that I toss with the roasted cauliflower and sautéed red onions, then add a couple of eggs beaten with goat cheese.
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Ingredients
Yield:Serves 4 to 6
- 1medium-size head of cauliflower
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- 3tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1small or ½ large red onion, cut in half or quarters (if using a whole onion) lengthwise, then sliced thin across the grain
- 2garlic cloves, minced
- 1teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1(14 8/10-ounce) can chopped tomatoes in juice
- ⅛teaspoon cinnamon
- ½teaspoon coriander seeds, lightly toasted and coarsely ground
- 2eggs
- 2½ounces soft goat cheese (about ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons)
- 2 to 3teaspoon chopped chives
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
179 calories; 13 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 6 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 11 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 5 grams sugars; 8 grams protein; 547 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Step
1
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment or foil. Cut away the bottom of the cauliflower stem and trim off leaves. Cut cauliflower into ⅓ inch thick slices, letting the florets on the edges fall off. Toss all of it, including the bits that have fallen away, with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Place on baking sheet in an even layer.
Step
2
Roast for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring and flipping over the big slices after 8 minutes, until the slices are tender when pierced with a paring knife and the small florets are nicely browned. Remove from oven and cut large slices into smaller pieces. You should have about 2 cups. Transfer to a large bowl. Turn oven down to 375 degrees.
Step
3
Oil a 1-½ to 2-quart baking dish or gratin. Heat remaining oil over medium heat in a medium-size skillet or a wide saucepan and add onion. Cook, stirring, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add a generous pinch of salt and the garlic and thyme and continue to cook, stirring, until garlic is fragrant, 30 seconds to a minute. Add tomatoes, cinnamon, ground coriander seeds, and salt and pepper to taste and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring often, over medium-low heat, for 10 to 15 minutes, until the tomatoes have cooked down and the sauce is fragrant. Taste and adjust seasoning. Add to bowl with the cauliflower and stir everything together. Scrape into prepared baking dish.
Step
4
Set aside 2 tablespoons of the goat cheese. Beat eggs, then add the remaining cheese and beat together until smooth. Pour over cauliflower mixture, making sure to scrape out every last bit with a rubber spatula. Dot top with small pieces of the remaining goat cheese and sprinkle on chives.
Step
5
Bake 30 minutes, until top is beginning to brown in spots. Remove from oven and allow to sit for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
Tip
- Advance preparation: Both the roasted cauliflower and the tomato sauce will keep for a couple of days in the refrigerator. The finished gratin will also keep for a couple of days. Reheat in a medium oven.
Ratings
5
out of 5
4,682
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Cooking Notes
Chris
So....I have a confession. Not a goat cheese fan. What else would work in this recipe, ya think?
Tim Murtaugh
Super delicious! Next time I will up the tomatoes and cheese a bit, maybe even an extra egg, as the cauliflowers I find are usually fairly large and the more of this there is the better.
A note on the recipe: A half a cup of soft goat cheese is about 4 ounces, not 2½ like the recipe says. Go with the half a cup, don't cut it down to 2½ ounces.
eric b
At the point when it's time to add the tomatoes and spices, I prefer to add the spices to the onion, garlic, thyme mixture in the pan, then stir the resulting paste around 30 seconds or so, to further wake them up. Then I add the tomatoes and proceed
Gregory Hess
If you use a "normal" sized cauliflower (they're all the same large-ish size at my grocery store) and a 26 oz can/box of tomatoes that you normally have in your pantry, up the eggs to 4 and the cheese to about 6 oz. I cooked down extra onions (3 vidalias) to light brown, then added the spices to the onions, then combined with the tomatoes, added a hunk of butter (a la Hazan,) two Parmesan rinds and two bay leaves and let that simmer about half an hour.
Mark R
I made one further change to this dish, and now I think I have it the way I will always make it. Instead of dots of goat cheese on top, I'm using shredded parmesan. It bakes much better and spreads evenly. I now put in an entire bunch of spinach, and use a lot of breadcrumbs - covering the entire top of the dish pretty much. (I still use the goat cheese for the part that gets beaten in with the eggs; I just don't use goat cheese for the topping). Tastes great!
Leslie J
I sort of combined this with Martha's other cauliflower gratin. Roasted the cauliflower with about 6 chopped cloves of garlic. Also roasted a pint of cherry tomatoes. Combined everything with about 1/2 c grated Parmesan/Romano mixed with 2 eggs, 12 cut up black olives, a cut-up onion sauteed with a shake of red pepper flakes and another shake of oregano, then roasted. Yum.
Mari
Quick version with less mess and less washing-up: Roast the cauliflower (in florets, not slices) with oil in the gratin dish. Make the tomato sauce in a saucepan. Add the cauliflower to the tomato sauce in the saucepan and mix. Add cauliflower/tomato mixture back into the gratin dish. Pour over egg/cheese mixture and add topping of choice (I added a mix of breadcrumbs and grated Parmesan)… no baking sheet or bowl involved, two fewer things to wash up!
Kelly
Will keep 2 days? Seriously?Vegetable dishes will easily last until you eat them if properly refrigerated (7-10 days). Freeze half for later if quantity is too much. Stop wasting food, especially delicious food!
Mark R
Made this again with a few changes. First, I eliminated the cinnamon which, even the 1/8 tsp., overpowers the dish. Second, I added spinach. I washed and stemmed the leaves and then mixed it in with the roasted cauliflower and tomato sauce before pouring the mixture into the baking dish. This added a really nice flavor. Third, I added breadcrumbs to the top of the dish before baking, which provided nice texture. (And I use 4 oz goat cheese, not 2 1/2, with all but 2 tbsp going in with the eggs.)
Petra
This was really good, and I'll definitely make it again. I didn't carefully read the instructions on using a 1-1/2 to 2-quart dish and assumed that the picture showed a regular 9x13 baking dish, which I then used. That was definitely too big! With the right sized baking dish this will be perfect.
Mary
This is such a tasty dish! Because I like a little heat, and cauliflower+tomato seems a little bland, I added crushed red pepper flakes to the onion-garlic-spice-tomato mixture.
I also mention that the recipe seems more complicated than it is, in case anyone hesitates to try it. Try it! It's delicious!
Marie
Very good - as my family doesn't care for goat cheese, I subbed in ricotta. I also added a little cayenne to 'punch' it up a little. Will definitely make it again.
Bernice Glenn
I love cauliflower and am always on the lookout for a new way to prepare. This one sounds good, but instead of cinnamon seasoning, I would use an anchovy or two mixed in with the olive oil. Also. I wouldn't mix the goat cheese in with the cauliflower ingredients, but use all of it for the topping. That way, you get the tastes of each, blending in your mouth, but each somewhat separate.
JP
This was delicious. I used fresh grape tomatoes instead of canned and added them to the onion/garlic mixture to cook down. I also added chili pepper flakes and more garlic b/c I love garlic. I can take or leave cinnamon though and next time will leave it out.
Really delicious! Yum.
Jeremy
Deb! You're seeing canned tomatoes in recipes 'cause Chefs and home cooks alike LOVE cooking with canned tomatoes -- especially with impossible-to-find-fresh types like San Marzano.Canned tomatoes, when cooked, are often superior to fresh tomatoes 'cause they're canned at their peak ripeness with salt -- and this combo allows their flavors to intensify. I'd recommend getting canned WHOLE tomatoes (which are peeled!) rather than chopped, and crushing them yourself.
Lisa
Yummmmmy! so much flavor. A Repeat! Without a doubt
Jill
I made this tonight subbing ricotta and grated pecorino for the goat cheese. It made for a very tasty dinner with a warm baguette. Perhaps less complex than goat cheese but I highly recommend it. Next time I might add some breadcrumbs for crunch.
Therese
Another commenter thinks this should last much longer than a couple of days, because it is vegetables - but remember there is egg in this, too.
mark's emails
I don't know where to buy a 14 8/10-ounce can of tomatoes so I used a 14 1/2 ounce can.
Lisseth
Cooks two heads of cauliflower, used 3 eggs and subbed the goat cheese with Feta. Delicious!
fn
Very good. I made it as written with very minor changes. I had some grape tomatoes on hand so I added that to the cauliflower florets. No need to slice the cauliflower and cut it smaller later. I also added some panko on top before baking. I love the cinnamon in the sauce, reminiscent of Greek pastitsio. It was a good side dish instead of potatoes for my prime rib dinner.
Barbara P
My guy loved this, even the leftovers from the dinner party I brought it to. Having read the notes, I roasted 1 1/2 heads of cauliflower, used a 26oz can of San Marzano tomatoes & twice as much goat cheese. The flavors blended together deliciously.
GPC
It looked and read beautifully as a recipe, but it was a lot of work, for a very mediocre side. I might be missing something?
Tish
My family loved this. I had to use dried coriander because that’s all I had. I think I used a tad too much and even with the tiny amount of cinnamon, I think I’ll skip that next time. I was worried about how much salt - worried it would be too salty. It wasn’t. As someone others suggested, I also added Parmesan - some right in with the eggs and goat cheese and some on top with panko. This will go into our regular rotation.
Sarah
A+++ We loved it. I altered the recipe slightly based on others comments. I used fresh cherry tomatoes quartered, left out the cinnamon, and used grated parmesan on the top instead of goat cheese. Next time I would use parmesan or mozzarella in with the egg mixture and leave out the goat cheese. It feeds about 3-4 people as an entree.
Chris
Excellent. Use large cauliflower, double tomatoes, herbs (except cinnamon), and onion; up goat cheese to 6 oz., use parm and bread crumbs on top with lots of chives.
jeepy
Easy and fine but I did not love the heavy tomato flavor with the cauliflower. Wouldn’t make again.
Stacy S
Roasting the cauliflower is a must giving a depth of flavor. Delicious and easy to pull together. Decided to use Garam masala to save time roasting the coriander. May add mushrooms next time for an additional texture.
Very good - made slight modifications
I followed other’s suggestions. I doubled the goat cheese and then I mixed the goat cheese mixture into the cauliflower. I then put panko and Parmesan on top. Delicious.
Marc Kagan
Goat cheese allergy in my family - I used feta and it seemed to turn out fine.
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