Whole Roasted Cauliflower With Pistachio Pesto

This recipe is perfect. I made just a few alterations. I subbed the cilantro with sage. I subbed the cauliflower with chicken. I subbed the pistachios with brazil nuts. I subbed ramps for the onions. I encased everything in clay in lieu of aluminum foil and roasted it in my neighbor's fire pit while they were sleeping.

whew - the "orange " ( ? ) cauliflower really blew my mind ... organic

Nicer to look at than eat. Next time I will double the onions and pesto as there's not enough flavor for me in the recipe as written.

I rarely think a recipe in the NYT falls short, but this fell through the floor. By essentially steaming the cauliflower the texture is all but eviscerated by becoming more mush than munch. The additional cooking time with the foil removed does indeed result in a gorgeous browned crown, but beneath that is more mush. As methods go, this isn't a good one. Lose the foil, baste as needed, and you'll have a roasted cauliflower, flavor and crunch intact. And yep, add more onions for that jammy base.

This was a big hit at Passover. I used a dutch oven, added more onions and added some turmeric to the oil before rubbing it on the cauliflower.

This is one of my favorites! So easy and yet such an upgrade from the usual. I love a new way to present vegetables! I used wine vinegar to de glaze, a whole head of garlic, an additional large handful of arugula in the parsley, cilantro pesto to make an adequate dose of greens. So delicious!! Next time I will more than double the onions. They add an amazing dynamic to this dish.

This presentation, while pretty, results in a lot of trapped moisture between the florets. The end product is then kind of soggy. This would be better prepared with texture and moisture in mind: separate florets, toss in oil and salt and roast on a sheet pan. The onions could be cut into large wedges and given the same treatment. Then dollop on the pesto.

Delicious and very easy to make. I think the pesto is fantastic and am confused by the comments describing it as bland. We served as our main dish with rice pilaf on the side and have tons of leftovers (for two people). Looking forward to having more tomorrow!

I made this last night for our Seder. Everyone loved it. Was very confused about the cooking time with all of the comments; however, it was perfect. Will definitely make again.

Loved this idea. My mods were lime juices as well as the zest, and a little rice wine vinegar. It was really good and not as expensive as the traditional pine nut version with basil.

Loved this, but like others felt the pesto needed lemon, then it was phenomenal. Only disappointment was that the outside of the cauliflower was brown but not crispy. Should I have basted less?

The trick is really making sure the cauliflower is soft enough before you turn the heat up. Then it is heaven, and perfect if you’re serving people who require dairy-free and gluten-free food (though there are many variations you can imagine with cheese).

I agree with all the notes, this recipe is delicious with needed tweaks. I liked the basic idea of double the onions, keep adding water and/or use sherry, double or triple the garlic, try basil or all parsley, add Parmesan, use a Dutch oven. I recommend quartering the cauliflower to better remove the slightly bitter which keeps the presentation and reduces the cook time. I recommend reading others notes to get more detail. I’d make it again.

I love the pesto recipe as is. No parm makes it suitable for a meal with meat or chicken, if you keep kosher.

It’s rare I don’t like the recipes I find on the app, but this one was a miss for me. It was just too bland for my taste, the pesto was bitter and lacked « depth ». Maybe parmesan would have helped, but I won’t be making it again to find out.