Cauliflower Steaks with Charred Red Pepper Sauce and Lentils

First, prepare the lentils. (I usually opt to do this the night before or earlier in the week to save time, and then just microwave them right before serving.) Rinse lentils in a strainer. Add to a small pot with 1 1/4 cups water. Bring to a boil and simmer until tender, about 40 minutes. Drain any remaining liquid.

Next, char the peppers for the red pepper sauce. Preheat your broiler, position a rack near the top of the oven, and line a baking sheet with foil. I like to de-stem my peppers, scrape out the seeds, and cut them into 2-4 pieces before broiling. Just place them skin-side up on the baking sheet. Alternatively, you could broil them whole, turning occasionally, and de-stem and de-seed them afterwards. It should take you about 6 minutes to broil them. Check on them occasionally—most broilers are uneven, and you will probably need to rotate your pan halfway through. Remove your peppers from the baking sheet after broiling; you’ll need the baking sheet for the cauliflower. (Do not remove the pepper skins. You want to leave them on to get that nice charred flavor in your sauce.)

For the cauliflower steaks, preheat oven to 425ºF. (If you have an oven thermometer, be sure to check it! Many ovens will say they are preheated after the broiler has been on, but the bottom of the oven is completely cold. If you don’t have an oven thermometer, just let the oven warm up for a few extra minutes.) Trim the outside leaves from your head of cauliflower. Place it stem down on a cutting board, and cut 4 1/2-inch “steaks” from the center of the cauliflower, the part that connects to the stem. You can also chop up the remaining hunks of cauliflower and roast them too, or you can save them for another use. (May I suggest leek and cauliflower potato skins?) You will probably have 2 really good steaks from the center that won’t fall apart at all, and two others that may fall apart a bit while cooking. That’s oky! Each person gets one nice steak and one that’s in pieces.

Place steaks on lined baking sheet. Brush each side with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast until tender and golden on both sides, about 20 minutes, flipping once (gently!) around the 12-minute mark.

While the oven is preheating and the steaks are cooking, whip up the charred red pepper sauce. You’ve already charred the peppers, so you’ve got a head start. If you have an immersion blender, simply add all ingredients to a small pot and blend until smooth. If using a regular blender, add all ingredients and blend until smooth, then pour into a small pot. Simmer over low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. You can also let it go a little shorter or longer, basically until whenever the cauliflower is done. At this point, you can blend it again to get it extra smooth (easy if you have an immersion blender), or simply serve it as-is.

Serve immediately once cauliflower is done. Place the cauliflower steaks on top of a scoop of lentils, and ladle red pepper sauce over the top.

Enjoy!

Sauce adapted slightly from the Tasting Table, via Smitten Kitchen.