Roasted Parmesan-Crusted Cauliflower
This is everything you want out of a good side dish—crunchy garlic and parm, crispy cauliflower, and just a touch of lemon!
Make it for your Thanksgiving table, or just make it for dinner tonight!
Roasted Parmesan-Crusted Cauliflower
servings: 4 to 6
Ingredients:
- ⅔ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup Panko breadcrumbs
- Zest + juice of 1 lemon
- 1 medium head cauliflower (2½ pounds), cut into florets (5 cups)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 garlic cloves, sliced
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. In a small bowl, combine the parmesan, panko, lemon zest, and lemon juice.
- In a large bowl, drizzle the cauliflower with the olive oil, salt, and pepper, then toss in the parmesan-panko mixture.
- Spread the cauliflower on a baking sheet, sprinkling it with any extra parmesan and panko that didn’t stick to the cauliflower when tossed. Roast until the parm and panko are nicely browned and the cauliflower is brown in spots—55 to 60 minutes.
- While the cauliflower roasts, melt the butter in a small pot over high heat, swirling constantly until foaming, then reduce the heat to medium. Add the garlic slices and continue to stir until the butter is just browned and the garlic is deep golden brown and crispy—2 minutes. Remove the butter mixture from the heat and add the sprig of thyme; allow the mixture to marinate in the pot until the cauliflower finishes roasting.
- Remove the cauliflower from the oven and transfer it to a serving dish. Scrape up any bits of browned parmesan that stuck to the baking sheet and sprinkle it over the cauliflower. Remove the thyme sprig from the brown butter, reserving it for a garnish. To serve, toss the cauliflower with the brown butter, then add the thyme back to the top of the dish and enjoy!
