When roasted, the delicate flavor and natural sweetness of cauliflower really shine. The cauliflower is the perfect canvas. It seems to absorb the characteristics of the other ingredients like a sponge, highlighting the flavors of everything it is roasted with. For my Roasted Cauliflower on toast with roast salmon, I delicately seasoned the roast salmon with simple fennel seed and tarragon spice mix. I wanted the roasted cauliflower to have an equally delicate and subtle flavor to it so as not to compete with the salmon.
The roasted cauliflower is flavored only with prosciutto, butter, and tarragon. It is sweet, buttery, fragrant, and tender. The butter is absorbed into the cauliflower as it roasts. Which gives the cauliflower a beautifully golden crisp appearance. The excess butter drips to the bottom of the roasting cauliflower and is soaked up by the bread. Crisping into the most amazing toast, flavored with butter, prosciutto, and tarragon. The toast then acts as its own perfect little serving platter, easy to move from the sheet tray to the dinner plate.
This roasted cauliflower recipe is based almost entirely on an Instagram post by the great French Chef Alain Passard. His restaurant Arpège has earned 3-Michelin stars for over 20 years. As much as I love this recipe, I’m certain my version doesn’t do him justice. Finding good quality, fresh tarragon, in Texas, in the middle of a pandemic, is nearly impossible.
Here is the recipe for Roasted Cauliflower on Toast with Roast Salmon
Roasted Cauliflower on Toast with Roast Salmon
Ingredients
Cauliflower
- 1 Head Cauliflower Cut into large florets
- Salt
- 2 Slices Prosciutto
- 2 Slices Bread
- 4 Tablespoons Salted Butter
- Tarragon Fresh is preferred, but dry will work
Salmon
- 2 6-Ounce Filets Salmon
- 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
- 1/4 Teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1/2 Teaspoon Fennel Seeds Crushed
- 1/2 Teaspoon Dry Tarragon 1 1/2 Teaspoons fresh tarragon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F
- Bring a pot of well-salted water to a boil, the water should taste like the ocean. Add the cauliflower florets and parboil for 5 minutes. Remove from the water and let cool.
- Place bread on a parchment-lined sheet tray large enough for both the cauliflower and the salmon to roast on
- Place a single later of 4-large florets on the toast, place shaved butter over each piece of cauliflower, sprinkle with tarragon, or if using fresh, place a sprig in between each piece. Then lay a slice of prosciutto over the top of each
- Make a second layer with 3-small florets, repeating the steps as before. Top with the second piece of prosciutto pushing it down into the void and place small florets onto the top so only a ruffle of prosciutto shows. Top with butter.
- Place in the oven for 35-minutes.
Roast Salmon
- Clean and pat dry the salmon filets
- Combine all dry rub ingredients in either a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder. Grind until the fennel seeds are thoroughly crushed. Sprinkle the dry mixture onto the filets.
- After the cauliflower has roasted for 35-minutes, spray the parchment with cooking oil where the salmon will roast. Add the salmon and return to the oven for 25 minutes, until the salmon is cooked medium and the cauliflower is golden brown.
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