Whole Pot-Roasted Cauliflower With Tomatoes and Anchovies Recipe (2024)

I've made this dish twice and it was delicious both times. The second time I had a vegetarian guest so replaced the anchovies with 2 tablespoons of white miso, which worked very well.

Lucky mistake . . . As a result of misreading the recipe, I first browned the cauliflower in the oven at 450 degrees, not on the stovetop. When it was browned, I brought it all up to the stovetop to saute the garlic, anchovies, etc. Then I placed everything back into the oven to continue braising. Voila--no dirty stovetop, and the cauliflower was tender and delicious! I also used thyme (instead of rosemary) for a more delicate flavor. Great recipe for a weeknight side dish!

After making this per recipe I decided to try another approach. I broke up cauliflower into large sections (about six from a med size cauliflower ) and drizzled tops with olive oil. Roasted in a fast oven until the tops started to brown. Then added cauliflower to tomato sauce as made in the recipe ( replaced the anchovies with reduced sodium vegetable boullion for Unami). Baked and enjoyed.

I didn't have a cauliflower but I did have a cabbage, so adapted this recipe and it turned out well. Quarter cabbage and brown as in recipe. Also brown whole carrots, quartered onion, and smashed whole garlic cloves. remove all of this from braising pan. Add tomatoes, garlic, salt, pepper, and smoked paprika. Simmer down. Put cabbage, carrots, onions on top of sauce. Sprinkle with salt and smoked paprika. Cover pan and put in 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. Really good cabbage dish!

Excellent, easy to prepare week night recipe. Used a whole 20 oz. can of san marzano tomatoes and all their juice, plus a couple extra glugs of wine right from the start, and did not have any trouble with the sauce drying up or sticking. I was basically able to ignore it for the entire cooking time. Will definitely make this again!

Added chopped green and black olives with tomatoes. My cauliflower head broke up, so I just broke up the remainder into large pieces and it was easier to brown and still delicious.

I have done a Thai variant. I separate the cauliflower into flowerets and blanch them for 7 minutes. Combine in Cuisinart: 1C arugula, 1T pine nuts, 1t Italian red pepper flakes, 1T Thai roasted red chili paste, and 1/4 cup olive oil. Blend until smooth. Toss with flowerets. Bake 15 minute in 400 degree oven. Enjoy. Adjust red chili paste to suit degree of "hotness."

You could try capers and/or olives, for that salty component.

Try, instead of the turning the cauliflower and messing up your stove, placing the dressed cauliflower under the broiler (set on LOW) AND KEEPING STRICT WATCH ON IT, REMOVE IT WHEN THE COLOR OF THE TOPS looks yummy and carmalized.
It works for me!!!!!!
I also HATE cleaning up the stove-top.

Don't cut too deep into cauliflower when coring or it will fall apart during browning. Browning takes longer than 5 minutes. I used already diced tomatoes. It also took longer in the oven and did not reduce. I took the cauliflower out of the pot and reduced it on the stove.

So, you leave the leaves of the cauliflower and roast them also? I'd love a video of this one so that I can see what is being trimmed and what is allowed to remain.

Omg this was amazing- ate 3 portions as a main dish 😛

This was shockingly good. I'm vegetarian, so I borrowed the miso idea (only I used a scant 2 T of red miso) + some capers, which brought the salty, umami punch for the anchovies. The sauce was aggressive in the best way, especially since the cauli itself isn't salted. But it came out so tender and sweet! I had a smaller head of romanesco, so I cut the recipe in half and it still worked perfectly in the dutch oven. Confession: I didn't have white wine, so I used rose. It worked fine.

My cauliflower was too big to brown whole so I went with quarters. Needed more olive oil for browning. Didn’t feel like rosemary so ended up just added chopped parsley at the end. Added capers with anchovies. Chopped the whole plum tomatoes and used all the drained liquid plus half a cup of white wine in the sauce. Served with grating cheese. Great leftovers, would make again!

Loved this, didn’t adjust it and did it in a sauté pan with high sides so mess wasn’t much of an issue. It reheats very well the next day. Will make it again.

Tasty. We sprinkled it some chopped roasted almonds before serving to give some crunch, and it added a lot. Served it with orzo. Next time, I’m going to roast florets, and then let them stew in the sauce. As written, it was a mess and took forever.

Browning was a pain. I will opt for the broiler technique next time. Otherwise it was delicious! I used miso in place of anchovies to make it vegetarian.

In a pinch I substituted capers for anchovies. And I did the whole thing on the stovetop, too. And I cut up the cauliflower into six sections for ease of browning. Not as dramatic as serving a whole cauliflower...like serving chicken parts instead of a whole bird. But tastes just as good.

So good! Cauliflower just melts in your mouth. Anchovies I think are a must to include for the richness of the flavor. I used dill instead of rosemary and it worked so well! Also skipped the browning step because the whole cauliflower was covered in sauce anyway.

Super easy and delicious! I too advice and added a 28 oz can tomatoes and had no drying out, browned cauliflower in oven, out in dutch oven with the sauce, basted it, roasted. Last 15minutes added some plant based meatballs around the cauliflower and it as a yummy satisfying meal!

Wow! I made it with capers instead of anchovy, thyme sprigs instead of rosemary. I’ll be repeating this dish and scarfing it up along side some crunchy bread with cheese!

Don't omit the anchovies -- crucial ingredient -- but don't tell anybody you used them. They will cook away to nothing but their umami flavor in this wonderful main-course dish.

Agree with you all!! 5tbsp of oil and a slightly damp cauliflower is a recipe for hot oil in your eye. Don’t recommend this

I really like anchovies, but for people who don't, I find capers to be the best substitute - sometimes it works even better

Delicious! The anchovy and rosemary tomato sauce works really well with the cabbagy funk of the cauliflower. But OMG do yourself a favor and dispense with the fussiness. It’s nearly impossible to sufficiently brown something that’s round and nestled in a pot. No, cut into 6 pieces and be happy. Use a 14oz can of good quality chopped tomatoes. Use more wine. Otherwise, enjoy! (I served with gemelli and pesto on the side. Works well!)

Next time I’ll try low broiling cauliflower to brown, it somehow feels meanly karmic every time hot oil splatters me. Otherwise recipe was fab! I didn’t feel like anchovies, so I subbed a 4-oz jar of drained capers; tripled garlic; didn’t bother draining tomatoes. 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, 3/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp msg made for a delectable sauce. Mine was done, with no cauli-sitting (lol), at 30 mins. Served with pesto dressed pasta but parmy polenta and I would’ve closed my eyes during first bite