Wednesday, August 7, 2024

When Grilling Cauliflower

     

Is there really such a thing as grilled cauliflower? When it's in the skilled hands of Grillmaster Jamie Purviance, you bet! Jamie, who wrote the cookbook Weber's Ultimate Grilling, stopped by Tonia's Kitchen to help ring in the summer grilling season, and talk about a delicious side. His cauliflower has a slight east Asian flavor with a Tandoori Crust. He told Tonia that's made up of yogurt and spices. It's interesting, because the Cauliflower takes on the look of a cake, thanks to the golden color it gets from roasting on the grill. 


Tandoori Crust

1/3 cup chopped yellow onion (½ small onion)
3 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
¾ cup plain whole milk or low fat Greek yogurt
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground turmeric
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 head cauliflower, about 1 ¾ pounds Canola oil Herb Chutney
1 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems
1 cup packed fresh mint leaves
½ small yellow onion, cut into chunks
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 small green chile pepper, such as serrano, seeded
1 tablespoon peeled, finely grated fresh ginger (
½ by 2 inch piece)
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup plain whole milk or low fat Greek yogurt

1.
Prepare the grill for indirect cooking over medium heat (350° to 400°F). In a food processor combine the onion and garlic and pulse until finely chopped. Add the lemon juice, yogurt, and all the spices and puree until fairly smooth, stopping to scrape down the bowl as needed

2.
Turn the cauliflower stem side up. Insert a small, sharp knife about ½ inch away from the stem and cut around the stem on a diagonal to remove it in one piece. Trim away any remaining leaves and discard them with the stem.

3.
Lightly oil a 10 inch cast iron skillet large enough to hold the cauliflower. Place the cauliflower, stemmed side down, in the skillet. Slather the yogurt mixture all over the cauliflower (some will run into the pan bottom, which is fine).

4.
Drain the wood chips, scatter over the coals or add to the smoker box of a gas grill, and close the lid. When smoke appears, grill the cauliflower in the skillet over indirect medium heat, with the lid closed, until a knife slides easily into the center and the crust is nicely golden brown, 50 to 70 minutes.
5.
If the cauliflower is browning too deeply, tent it with aluminum foil. Using a wide metal spatula, transfer the cauliflower to a platter, leaving behind any scorched sauce in the pan (it will taste bitter).

6.
While the cauliflower is cooking, make the chutney. In a food processor combine all the
ingredients except the yogurt and pulse until very finely chopped, stopping to scrape down the bowl sides as needed. Add the yogurt and puree until fairly smooth. To serve, cut the cauliflower into wedges. Serve warm with the chutney.

The photo credit is Ray Kachatorian, and the credit line is: Excerpted from Weber’s Ultimate Grilling © 2019 by Jamie Purviance. Photography © 2019 by Ray Kachatorian. Reproduced by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.