Porcini Cauliflower Steak
Today we are talking mushrooms! Porcini mushrooms, to be specific. Dried porcini mushrooms are commonly used in European cooking— especially Italian— to add deep rich meaty flavor. Porcini’s are especially high in glutamates— which is what give certain foods that ‘umami’— they’re also hard to cultivate and have very specific harvest seasons, so they are more expensive than most mushrooms you’ll find in the supermarket. You’ll usually find them in dried form in small bags— all you have to do to get powder is blitz it in a spice grinder and in an instant you’ll have porcini powder.
This recipe is a super delish vegetarian recipe with only a few ingredients, but the flavor the porcini powder lends is out of this world and will impart a deep rich meatiness to the cauliflower steak. So let’s get our flavor chase on with porcinis, shall we?
Flavor Chase is a series exclusively on Pinterest, where I hunt down and cook with umami-packed pantry and fridge items that’ll give your recipes a flavor punch and be your ticket to quick and tasty food. Umami is what they call the fifth flavor after SWEET, SOUR, SALTY, BITTER. It makes your taste buds sing and you’ll always go back for that extra taste. So, join me as I show you step by step quick and delicious dishes that’ll send you on your own flavor chase.
To watch this episode of Flavor Chase, head over to my Pinterest.
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
2 large heads of cauliflower
1 oz dried porcini mushrooms
1 ½ tsp kosher salt
½ tsp black pepper
3 tbsp olive oil
Flaky sea salt, for finishing
Flat leaf parsley, for garnish
Mayonnaise or Greek yogurt, for serving
METHOD
Preheat oven to 425F.
Use a spice grinder or electric coffee grinder to grind porcini into a fine powder. Pour onto a flat dish or plate and mix in kosher salt and black pepper.
Trim very bottom of the core and remove outer leaves. Slice down center of cauliflower, through base into ½” thick slabs. You’ll yield around 2 full slabs from the center of each cauliflower. Reserve the outer florets for roasting or another use. Rub both sides with olive oil and place cut side down onto porcini mixture, ensuring powder is evenly coated. Repeat with other side. Continue with all cauliflower slabs.
Arrange on a lined sheet pan and roast for 30-35 minutes or until tender.
Transfer to a serving platter, garnish with parsley, finish with flaky sea salt and serve warm with a dollop of mayonnaise or Greek yogurt.