Baked Cauliflower with Olives, Cheese and Fennel Seeds
Roasted cauliflower is an easy win when it comes to dinner. It’s good on its own with a little oil and seasoning, and gets even better when tossed with pitted olives and finished with melted Gruyere cheese. Go ahead and experiment with a variety of cheeses, or swap in nutritional yeast, which has the cheesy attitude that works fine here. This recipe calls for a two-stage roasting approach. Progressive roasting locks in the flavors and prevents the cheese from becoming too crispy—worth the outrageous effort of setting a timer on your phone for 20 minutes twice.
Ingredients
- 1 medium or large cauliflower, chopped
- 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- 2 teaspoons fennel seeds
- 6 garlic cloves, chopped
- ½ chopped pitted Kalamata olives
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ cup grated Gruyere
- Freshly ground black pepper
Serving suggestion
½ cup chopped fresh parsley
1 lemon, cut into wedges
Instructions
- 1Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Toss together the cauliflower, chickpeas, olive oil, and ½ tsp of salt on a sheet pan. Roast for 20 minutes.
- 2Remove the sheet pan from the oven. Add the fennel seeds, garlic, olives, and red pepper flakes and toss until combined. Sprinkle on the grated Gruyere and roast for another 20 minutes or until the cheese is slightly crispy but still melty.
- 3Season with another sprinkling of salt and black pepper and serve in bowls. Top with parsley and a side of lemon wedges for squeezing.
Easy Ingredient Swaps
↔Caraway seeds for the fennel seeds
↔Chopped pitted green olives for the Kalamata olives
↔Chopped fresh mint or cilantro for the fresh parsley
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