Cauliflower with Brown Butter and Crispy Crumbs

Name: Cauliflower with Brown Butter and Crispy Crumbs
Prep time: P0Y0M0DT0H10M0.000S
Cook time: P0Y0M0DT0H28M0.000S
Total time: P0Y0M0DT0H38M0.000S
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 1 medium head cauliflower (about 2 pounds), cut into bite-size florets; 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped; 6 tablespoons unsalted butter; 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt; 1/3 cup fresh bread crumbs (see Know-How, below); 3 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley; Freshly ground black pepper; Lemon wedges

Getting reviews...

Level: Easy
Total: 38 min

Prep: 10 min
Cook: 28 min

Yield: 4 servings

Level: Easy
Total: 38 min

Prep: 10 min
Cook: 28 min

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

Deselect All

1 medium head cauliflower (about 2 pounds), cut into bite-size florets

2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt

1/3 cup fresh bread crumbs (see Know-How, below)

3 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

Freshly ground black pepper

Lemon wedges

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Put the cauliflower on a baking sheet and scatter the garlic on top. Melt the butter in a medium skillet and toss 2 tablespoons with the cauliflower and garlic; set the rest aside in the skillet. Toss the cauliflower with 1 teaspoon of the salt. Roast until the cauliflower is quite tender and the edges are starting to brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer the cauliflower to a serving bowl.
Reheat the remaining butter over medium-high heat until brown. Add the bread crumbs and cook, swirling the pan and tossing, until they are brown and crisp-this should take less than 1 minute. Pull the pan from the heat and toss the crumbs with the parsley and the remaining 14 teaspoon salt. Spoon crumbs over the cauliflower and season with pepper. Serve warm or room temperature with lemon wedges on the side.

Cook’s Note

Sometimes it's the little things that can make the difference in a dish being spectacular or so-so-like using homemade bread crumbs versus store-bought. Crumbs made from quality bread are easy to make. Simply tear up bread, with or without the crusts, and grind it in a food processor-1 (2-ounce) slice makes about 1/2 cup of crumbs. If you want moist crumbs-as you do for this crispy topping-start with fresh, not stale, bread. Stale dry bread is better for crumbs used in stuffings or as a binder because the crumbs absorb more liquid.