Whole Roast Cauliflower Recipe

Fill and boil your kettle, and preheat the oven to 220°C (Gas Mark 7). Place the cauliflower in a large saucepan and pour over enough boiling water to cover, then put the pan over a medium-high heat and cook the cauliflower until just tender (about 5 minutes, or slightly longer if it’s really big). Alternatively, if you have a large enough steamer basket to hold a whole cauliflower, you can steam it over a pan of boiling water for 5 minutes. However you cook it, the cauliflower should just be starting to become tender, yielding when pierced with the point of a sharp knife. Drain the cauliflower thoroughly and pat it dry with kitchen roll, then sit it in a roasting tin and set aside for a moment.

To make the garlic and caper butter, put the oil, softened butter, capers, garlic and lemon zest into a mixing bowl and beat them together until well combined, then season to taste with salt and pepper. Next, spread the butter mixture all over the cauliflower, making sure there is plenty on the top. Put the cauliflower into the hot oven and roast for about 25 minutes, or until it is nicely golden; when it has been cooking for 10 minutes or so, lift the cauliflower out of the oven and baste it with its juices, spooning them over the top, before replacing it in the oven for the remainder of the cooking time.

When the cauliflower is almost cooked, put the 20g of butter into a frying pan and melt over a low heat. Add the breadcrumbs, chopped capers and lemon zest, turn the heat up slightly and fry until the crumbs are crisp and golden. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the parsley, then season to taste with salt and pepper. Take the cooked cauliflower out of the oven and place on a serving dish, pouring any juices from the roasting tin over the top of it. Shake over the lemon juice, then scatter over the crumb topping. Let it sit for a couple of minutes, then take it to the table so guests can ‘carve’ a slice for themselves.