Cauliflower Fries -- surprisingly good!

[crickadoodle]

A friend sent me a link where I found this interesting recipe.  The fries were very good, not quite as good as butternut squash fries, but much easier!  That in itself will cause me to make them more often.  Just like butternut squash fries, the cauliflower shrinks a lot.


Ingredients:
1 head of cauliflower
3 tablespoons olive oil  (I used extra virgin coconut oil)
Salt and pepper to taste


Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Clean the cauliflower of any leaves and trim the tough part of the bottom stem so that you get a flat surface. Stand the cauliflower upright on a cutting board, and with a large, heavy knife, create 1/2 inch slices. The outer bits will fall off in very small pieces (this is a very good thing, you will see later), the inner pieces will be like cauliflower latticework.

Line a large baking sheet with foil. Toss the cauliflower with the olive oil, salt and pepper, and place on the baking sheet. If you have more cauliflower than will fit in a flat layer on the pan, reserve the extra for later. You don’t want it to get too crowded or it won’t brown properly.

Place the cauliflower in the oven, checking in after 15-20 mins. When it starts looking golden, turn with a spatula and return to the oven for another 10 mins or so.

Total cooking time is approximately 35-40 minutes, but it depends on how crispy you like your cauliflower. I like mine a little charred.

[barrypaxton]

I sometimes roast cauliflower when I am roasting veggies. Very good flavor.

Blessings,
Ollie

[crickadoodle]

I really did eat just about the whole head of cauliflower -- Mom ate some too.  My husband loves cauliflower, but I actually cooked this after his lunch and when he came home I was kinda embarrassed to tell him there were none left for him to taste!  I'll make them for him again one day.

[Tina K]

LOVE    Roasted Cauliflower!!  We eat lots of that here! YUM!! Going to make some tonight & I think I'm going to try it with the coconut oil!!

[lrainbow2006]

I loved this when I tried it too...but cauliflower is soooo expensive where I live...almost $3 a head.....I hope it will come down sometime....Lisa

[K Wood]

We have this a lot! It's great when you can catch the cauliflower on sell as it is a little pricey this year. How did it turn out with the coconut oil?

[Karen Weeks]

I eat it all the time and the whole head right by myself.  But I got the same recipe from Mrs. Dash and on the board and it was called cauliflower popcorn  love it  Hugs Karen

[crickadoodle]

Made this twice this week and it was great with coconut oil.  I just toss it with some oil and salt and pepper.  One of the times I made 1/2 of it cauliflower fries and the other half butternut squash fries.  Cauliflower was almost $3 at WalMart, but closer to $2 at another local grocery store.  Butternut squash was $1.29 a lb. at WalMart, but $0.79 a lb. at the other store.  I've planted some seeds to hopefully not have to pay for the butternut squash at all!  Hope I'm successful.

[MsHeirloom]

We're very fortunate with the butternut squash here in NW Ohio.  They are $1.25 each at the farmer's market.  Soon will be 50 cents.  Or can buy by the bushel later this fall.  My husband roasted 3 of them last night.  We had half for dinner, reheated the other half and made breakfast from them.  Yummy!!  Pam

[Tina K]

I really wasn't a fan of the coconut oil on it, which is odd b/c I really do like to use coconut oil, so Next time I will use something else.

[Ginny M.]

Crick, how do you make the butternut fries?  I made it and it definitely did not turn out.  We ended up mashing them.  I obviously did something wrong but don't know what.  How big do you cut them?  I'll have to try the cauliflower.


Ginny

[crickadoodle]

I cut them about the size of regular fries -- long and skinny.  You have to flip them 1/2 way through.  I bake them at around 400 degrees for 15 minutes and check them.  If they are browning, I flip them.  If not, I let them cook a little longer.  I guess you have to watch them.  Some burn a bit, but I like the kinda burnt ones. 

Oh, and I've recently bought the frozen cauliflower and roasted them.  They work just fine.  I just oil the tray and spread the cauliflower.  Then I sprinkle with salt and pepper. 

[jaydensmommy]

I love the kinda burnt butternut squash fries.

[MissBizzyLizzy]

this sounds yum.  i actually have a head in the fridge.

[Joyful Friend]

If you remember, Sicilian Mom put a picture on of the roasted cauliflower; it looked like lace.  I fix it often.  I did the roasted veggies last Thanksgiving and my granddaughter said my fixings looked like Hobby Lobby.  They tasted so delicious.  I have roasted my veggies ever since a year ago.  I miss SM.  She always had such clever ideas.  It's good to keep bringing the ideas up again for all the newbies. Thanks, Crick.  I also use the EVCO as well as EVOO JF

[bingo]

Has anyone tried a cauliflower that is ORANGE or PURPLE We have seen them ,but have passed them up so far! Thought I would ask First !

[crickadoodle]

I heard they existed -- think I saw them on TV, but never up close!  I don't know much about them, though.  I guess it would be fun to try one.  Go for it!  You can report back to us.

[CodingQueen]

I prefer the purple (my favorite color). It gets its purple color from anthocyanins, the same antioxidant flavonoids found in red cabbage and red wine. But, it doesn't take as long to cook as the white and will turn green if you cook it too long. Adding some lemon juice or vinegar will help keep it's bright color.

CQ

[LINDA RN]

So the orange color caulflower has Vit A?