Name: Whole Pot-Roasted Cauliflower With Tomatoes and Olives
Total time: PLACEHOLDER
Ingredients: 2 (28-ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes; 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil , plus extra for drizzling; 6 anchovy fillets , rinsed and minced; 6 garlic cloves , minced; ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes; ¼ teaspoon salt; ¼ cup golden raisins; ¼ cup pitted kalamata olives , chopped coarse; 3 tablespoons capers , rinsed; 1 head cauliflower (2 pounds), outer leaves discarded and stem trimmed flush with bottom florets; 1 ounce Parmesan cheese , grated (½ cup); ¼ cup minced fresh parsley

Why This Recipe Works

Eaten as a hearty side or a light vegetarian main, whole braised cauliflower is becoming increasingly popular, and for good reason: Not only is the dish a showstopper, it's also healthy and tastes great. We opted for an aromatic, tomato-based sauce for our version. Most recipes start by searing the whole cauliflower in a Dutch oven, but we found this task unwieldy, and the browning was spotty at best. Luckily, once the cauliflower was coated in our tangy, piquant sauce of bright tomatoes, sweet golden raisins, savory anchovies, and briny capers and olives, we couldn't taste or see the difference between browned and unbrowned cauliflower, so we skipped the hassle of browning altogether. To ensure all the rich flavors of our sauce penetrated the dense vegetable, we started by cooking it upside down and spooned some of the sauce into the crevices between the stalk and florets. Partway through cooking, we flipped the cauliflower right side up, spooned more sauce over the top, and left the Dutch oven uncovered as it finished cooking. This allowed the sauce to thicken and the flavors to intensify as the cauliflower cooked to tenderness.

Before You Begin

This recipe makes a generous amount of sauce that we recommend using to top other elements of your meal: You can serve the cauliflower as a light entrée with rice, grains, or beans, or as a side for simply prepared meat, poultry, or fish.

Instructions

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Pulse tomatoes and their juice in food processor until coarsely chopped, 6 to 8 pulses.

Cook oil, anchovies, garlic, and pepper flakes in Dutch oven over medium heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and salt, bring to simmer, and cook until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes.

Stir in raisins, olives, and capers. Nestle cauliflower, stemmed side up, into sauce and spoon some of sauce over top. Cover, transfer pot to oven, and roast until cauliflower is just tender (paring knife can be slipped in and out of cauliflower core with some resistance), 30 to 35 minutes.

Uncover pot and, using tongs, flip cauliflower over. Spoon some of sauce over cauliflower, then scrape down sides of pot. Continue to roast, uncovered, until cauliflower is tender, 10 to 15 minutes.

Remove pot from oven. Sprinkle cauliflower with Parmesan and parsley, and drizzle with extra oil. Cut cauliflower into wedges and serve, spooning sauce over individual portions.