Grilled Lemon Pepper Cauliflower

With fresh and smoky grilled lemon juice, this grilled lemon pepper cauliflower is a simple side dish finished with pine nuts and chopped parsley.

Despite my commitment to eating by the seasons, I always make an exception with cauliflower. Its peak is technically autumn to winter, but it tastes so good no matter the date on the calendar.

And it’s made an appearance in my fruit and veggie farm box for the last few weeks.

That’s definitely not the case with delicate spring and summer produce like berries, tomatoes and corn, which have a much shorter seasonal window.

I give cauliflower credit for its consistency as an affordable, readily available vegetable that’s pretty much a blank canvas.

With a subtle nutty flavor to start, cauliflower can take on a number of cuisines and cooking methods.

How To Cook Cauliflower

There are 5 ways that I like to cook cauliflower:

1. Roast It: All you need is a sheet pan and an oven to roast cauliflower. At its most basic, I will toss it in olive oil, salt and pepper. And if I am in the mood for something more, I will add dried spices, tahini or harissa.
2. Grill It: This is where cauliflower can become a summer side. Grilled cauliflower turns out smoky, and this veggie still keeps its crunchy bite.
3. Steam It: I don’t recommend steaming it longer than 10 minutes, or your cauliflower will end up too soft. This is the most plain way to prepare it.
4. Sauté It: Cauliflower is a great addition to any stir-fry that uses fresh or frozen vegetables.
5. Don’t Cook It: You can keep cauliflower raw and serve it on a veggie tray with hummus or another dip.

How To Grill Cauliflower

It’s all in the prep when it comes to grilling cauliflower. You can choose to do a quick marinade like I do with this grilled lemon pepper cauliflower.

Or you can just stick to olive oil.

It’s important to slice your cauliflower and attempt to keep those slices intact as much as possible. I realize this is easier said than done considering you can’t control the shape of the stem and florets.

Just try to avoid pieces that are so small that they will fall through the grates.

The Ingredients

This is what you need for this cauliflower recipe:

• Cauliflower: Remove the leaves from a head of cauliflower and just trim the base of the stem. The more stem you keep, the more likely the slices won’t fall apart.
• Olive oil: I use extra virgin olive oil since this is a recipe with so few ingredients, and I want the best flavor.
• Lemons: In the marinade, I include fresh lemon juice. Then I grill another lemon to squeeze on this smoky juice when the cauliflower is finished grilling.
• Pepper: Freshly ground black pepper is best.
• Salt: Even though pepper gets top billing, salt is the seasoning that brings out the overall taste of the entire dish.
• Pine nuts: To finish the grilled cauliflower, I add toasted pine nuts.
• Parsley: For something a little herby, I sprinkle on chopped fresh parsley.

How To Make Grilled Lemon Pepper Cauliflower

First, I preheat the grill to medium heat.

Then I trim off the leaves from a head of cauliflower, cutting off the base of the stem and next cutting the cauliflower into 1/2-inch-thick slices.

In a small bowl, I whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. I brush this mixture on the cauliflower, making sure to coat it.

With the grill ready, I grill the cauliflower on both sides until it is grill-marked and has softened slightly. I like the cauliflower to retain its crispness. Think of its doneness like cooking pasta till it’s al dente.

I also quickly grill a halved lemon.

Then when the cauliflower is finished, I toss it in grilled lemon juice and add more black pepper.

Once I have it plated, I finish the cauliflower with toasted pine nuts and chopped parsley.

How To Serve Grilled Cauliflower

You can treat this grilled cauliflower like a side dish and pair it with whatever grilled main you are making from chicken to burgers to pizza.

If you want to think of these as grilled cauliflower steaks, I recommend pairing them with a salad.

Can’t Get Enough Cauliflower? Try These Recipes

Roasted Cauliflower Spinach Pesto Pasta

Cauliflower White Bean Tahini Soup

Tomato Olive Artichoke Cauliflower Rice 

Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpeas with Herby Tahini

Roasted Cauliflower Kale Salad

Harissa Roasted Cauliflower Couscous

Click here to see the step-by-step web instructions for this recipe!

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