I have “borrowed” this recipe from one of my favorite local restaurants, Spinasse. Located at 14th and Pine, it is 2 blocks from my house and way too easy to go there multiple times a month.  Opened about a year ago by the talented Justin Niedermeyer, the cuisine is all about Piemontese classic dishes from vitello tonnato to crudo to roasted goat…..and then to pasta.  The pasta is sublime, the gnocchi in brodo (broth) is ridiculously good, simple but so well crafted you feel like you could eat a portion twice the size and not think twice. I could wax poetic about this place but there is a great blog post that you can find here.

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A couple of visits ago we had roasted cauliflower that blew my mind and since we seem to make this at my house about once a week.  We ordered it thinking that it was going to come like any other roasted vegetable, cut into florets and roasted with olive oil/butter, salt and pepper. When it came to the table we were surprised by a quarter of a head of cauliflower that appeared to be either extremely well carmelized or perhaps burned to a crisp on the two cut sides. Knowing that Justin and his crew wouldn’t send out burned food we dug in with enthusiasm. The outside is crunchy and sweet with a perfectly cooked interior, soft but still with a little tooth to it.  I asked my favorite bartender Michelle how this was made because I wanted to eat it everyday for the rest of my days and she simply laughed and said “You tell me, Mr. C.I.A.!”. After a moment looking dumbfounded it came to me - “Cast Iron!” - whew, all that schooling did pay off.

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So here is the process.  Heat your well-seasoned cast iron over medium heat. In the meantime, quarter your cauliflower and season liberally, making sure salt gets into the innards of the quartered piece. Add some high heat oil to the pan such as peanut or grapeseed. Place the cauliflower cut side down and sear for 15ish minutes until well carmelized, it will look almost burned. Flip onto other side and repeat. By the time the second side is done the inside will be perfectly cooked.  Finish with a drizzle of delicious olive oil.