Nowhere in Florida is spring felt more than in the annual Flower & Garden Festival at Epcot.
Incredible flower art, herb beds, and vegetable gardens keep getting a little more colorful, a little more extensive, a little more creative every year. The bonus this year is kiosks of garden-inspired little plates in every country.
The mouthwatering selection includes vegetable lasagna primavera in Italy, savory bread pudding with peas and mushrooms in Germany, fruishi (fruit sushi) in Japan, a local watermelon & feta salad in Florida and so much more.
I went to the festival two weekends in a row and have been inspired to make my own colorful, garden-inspired creation.
I first saw cauliflower steaks in Fine Cooking magazine two years ago, and I remember being amused by the name, but I now realize that if they had been simply called grilled cauliflower slices, I would not have remembered them after so long.
I felt inspired to light the grill, char the cauliflower then top it with a fresh, fruity salad.
My cauliflower steaks looked like little trees adorned with colorful fruit. Cauliflower Steaks + Chickpea and Fruit Salad looked like they belonged in a garden indeed.
Cauliflower Steaks + Chickpea and Fruit Salad Recipe
YIELD: 4 SERVINGS
PREP TIME: 15 MIN
COOK TIME: 10-15 MIN
These cauliflower steaks are also wonderful cooked in a pan with a little bit of oil if you prefer that to grill.
Ingredients:
For the Cauliflower
- 1 medium cauliflower head, leaves removed
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- Fine sea salt and ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon yellow curry powder
For the Salad
- 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 nectarine, finely diced
- ½ cup finely diced pineapple
- 10 basil leaves, chiffonaded
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Juice of half a lemon
- A light sprinkling of fine salt and pepper
Directions:
Preheat the grill for 15 minutes.
Using a sharp knife, cut the cauliflower lengthwise into four 1 inch-thick slices. Reserve the scraps for another use.
Brush the cauliflower slices generously with olive oil. Mix the salt, pepper, cumin, and curry, and sprinkle both sides of the cauliflower.
Cook the cauliflower slices on the grill, with the lid closed, 5 to 8 minutes per side.
To make the salad, simply combine all the ingredients in a bowl.
Plate the cauliflower steaks with the chickpea and fruit salad on top.
