Gluten Free Cauliflower Piccata Recipe
Cauliflower – love it or leave it?
I will admit that growing up I could leave it, dare I say I went as far as being an almost hater? Sure, it was okay when covered with creamy cheese sauce or raw dipped into ranch dressing. But if you are going to eat all those calories and extra fat, wouldn’t it be better just to have a piece of flourless chocolate cake? Topped with caramel sauce? And maybe some whipped cream? But I digress.
Back to cauliflower. I have found that with most vegetables I didn’t think I liked that roasting is the answer. The veggies turn out perfectly crisp tender and roasting brings out the natural sweetness is just about anything.
Roasted cauliflower is perfectly good but I got to thinking, “why not zhuzh it up a bit?” For this recipe I gave it a piccata treatment, similar to the flavors of Chicken Piccata; lemon, parsley, capers and some crispiness, thanks to Kinnikinnick Gluten Free Panko Style Breadcrumbs.
The result? Kind of genius! This recipe transforms plain ‘ole cauliflower into something special enough for your holiday table but simple enough to just toss together.
Gluten Free Cauliflower Piccata Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower broken into florets, larger pieces cut so all the pieces are fairly even in size
- 3 tablespoons olive oil use divided
- ½ teaspoon kosher or fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 large cloves of garlic minced or grated
- ½ cup gluten free panko style bread crumbs
- 1 whole lemon
- ½ cup parsley leaves measured then chopped
- ½ medium red onion cut in half and finely sliced
- ¼ cup capers drained
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes – optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- Place the cauliflower on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the salt and pepper. Toss to coat and roast, flipping once while cooking for even browning, until fork tender and browned, 20 – 25 minutes.
- While the cauliflower is roasting, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, add 2 teaspoons of olive oil, the garlic and bread crumbs and cook, stirring, until browned, about 3 minutes. Remove from skillet to a mixing bowl. Wash and dry the skillet.
- Grate the lemon zest from the lemon into the breadcrumb mixture, add the parsley and toss to coat.
- Heat the skillet over medium heat; add another 2 teaspoons of olive oil and the red onions. Cook the onions until tender, about 3 – 4 minutes. Add the capers and red pepper flakes, if using, and squeeze in the juice of the lemon. Cook the mixture until most of the lemon juice has evaporated. Add the roasted cauliflower to the pan and toss. Reserve some of the bread crumb mixture for garnish and add the rest to the pan. For extra richness, add another drizzle of olive oil and toss everything together. Garnish with the reserved breadcrumb mixture and serve.
Nutrition
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This looks and sounds fabulous! This is going on my Thanksgiving menu for sure! Thanks for sharing.
Cauliflower – love it. This recipe? Love it even more!
YAY! Enjoy.
This sounds totally awesome! I already love cauliflower, but I think this takes it over the top! :)
Thansk Ricki, since you love it you were already half way there :)
Love it or leave it? I LOVE it! :) Great recipe, Carol.
Thanks Hallie!
Carol I was the same way growing up. It HAD to be smothered in something :) Now I love it! And this is a fabulous recipe. I need to find those panko style crumbs!
Thanks Maggie – the company that makes them is Canadian so I am sure they should be fairly easy to find there – they are in my natural foods store here.
Cauliflower is one of my favorite vegetables! I love it raw, for dipping in hummus. Also love it in place of rice (I grate it in the food processor and steam it), roasted, or steamed and pureed with a bit of cheese. And of course, picatta-style sounds great too :)
This looks so pretty! I wasn’t a cauliflower/broccoli fan either, well without the dip, but have grown to like it especially roasted. I feel the same wasy about brussel sprouts, roasting is the answer…for some reason though my kids love it! all I had to do was call it trees or white trees makes cauliflower even more enticing! lol
So…I LOVE cauliflower! My family, on the other hand, could leave it. So that is just one veggie I have not done much with over the years. This recipe, however, could change that. I am totally making it! Love this one~ xo
I hope so – then you can thank me for getting your boys to eat cauliflower :)
xo,
c
Definitely a love it person here! I’m actually a little nutty about all things cruciferous – inherited the broccoli gene from my dad :) Just pinned this – great idea to jazz it up this way Carol!
Thanks Alisa!
We love cauliflower at our house. Lately veggies have been kept very simple – roasted or steamed. But this dish would be a welcome change!
Thanks Amy! I understand simple with a baby in the house!
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Hi Carol: Just wanted to thank you for this delicious recipe. I made it yesterday for a special birthday dinner for the whole family. Everyone LOVED it, from Grandpa to Granddaughter! Terrific!
Yay! So happy everyone enjoyed it and I hope your birthday celebration was amazing!
Another great one that I’ll have to try. I make Chicken Piccata occassionally, so why not serve this as a ‘side’ ! I also like to make mashed potatoes, using 1/2 potato, 1/2 cauliflower… Will be trying this one :)
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