Cauliflower Parmigiana
This was so much fun to make. It’s my favourite thing about vegan cooking, the creativity and inspiration you can get from thinking about how you can make it plant-based and tasty.
The classic aussie pub meal, veganised.
Time: 40 minutes Serves: 4
Ingredients-
Crumb:
2 cups puffed rice, blended
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried thyme or oregano
1/2 tsp paprika
For the cauliflower:
1-2 large heads of cauliflower, sliced into ‘steaks’
1 1/3 cup cassava flour
1 1/3 cup water, more if needed
Tomato Sauce:
1 jar passata
Basil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, finely diced
1 tsp maple syrup
1 tsp oregano
Cashew cheeze:
½ cup cashews
1 clove garlic
½ lemon, juiced
1 tsp onion powder
Sprig rosemary
Method-
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius and start by cutting your cauliflower into ‘steaks’. Set up your crumbing plates by grabbing a shallow bowl for the cassava mixture and a flat plate for your crumb mixture.
To make the cassava mixture, simply mix the cassava flour and water together until smooth.
To make your crumb, add the rice puffs to a blender and blend until a crumb texture has appeared. Add to your flat plate along with your spices and mix.
Now to crumb your cauliflower, dip one piece of cauliflower steak in the cassava mixture, then into the crumb mixture and set aside on a lined baking tray.
Repeat until all your cauliflower has been crumbed. Add the tray into the oven and cook for 25 minutes or until soft.
While the cauliflower is baking, start making your sauce by adding your onion and maple syrup to a small fry pan and cook until translucent.
Next, add your garlic for a minute before adding the passata. Throw in your spices and cook until it’s reduced to a thick paste. Add in your basil as it’s finished cooking.
To make the cashew cheeze, add all the ingredients to a high speed blender and blend until smooth.
Once the cauliflower is ready, top with sauce and cashew cheeze and back into the oven on a grill setting for another 5-10 minutes, being careful not to burn the top!
Once the top has coloured, serve with either a salad, mashed potatoes or steamed greens for a classic aussie meal.