5:2 Diet Recipe:
Cauliflower Steaks with Grana Padano Cheese, Olives and Rocket Leaves
With apologies to my regular readers who have been waiting for my latest 5:2 diet recipe, I have created several since my last one was published, Pork & Fennel with Red Wine & Borlotti Beans, but I have just not had the time to share them. Hopefully you will all forgive me when you see today’s recipe for Cauliflower Steaks with Grana Padano Cheese, Olives and Rocket Leaves, which is a cracking recipe in so many counts……it’s elegant and worthy of any dinner party, incredibly easy to cook, full of taste and flavour and is incredibly low in calories too.
Cauliflower Steaks are clearly not steaks in the common sense of the word, insofar as they are NOT meat (or beef steaks) and they are very much vegetarian. Before I created my recipe for my pan-fried veggie steaks, I did some research on-line, and you may all be interested to see that there are many recipes (and techniques) for cauliflower streaks, as I have highlighted below:
Cauliflower Steaks with Cauliflower Purée
Roasted Cauliflower Steaks Recipe
Cauliflower Steaks with Olive Relish and Tomato Sauce
Cauliflower Steaks with Chimichurri
Cauliflower Steak with Mushrooms & Hee Hee
As you will see from the links I have shared, there are lots of “saucy recipes” out there, but, I wanted to concentrate on the texture of the cauliflower, and therefore simplified mine to make a salad. My recipe for Cauliflower Steaks with Grana Padano Cheese, Olives and Rocket Leaves, makes use of salad leaves, passata, olives and some excellent Grana Padano cheese; the recipe feeds two people, as a light luncheon dish, but if you want this to be a main meal and have 220 calories to spare, than by all means eat it all! (Each portion is 110 calories)
I pan-fried in chilli oil and then assembled the dish, as you can see from the photos, as a plated salad. The rest of the cauliflower was popped into the fridge to use for another time (another new recipe for Chow Fan – Fried Rice). In an attempt to “gentrify” the dish and make it a rather glamorous diet meal, I had fun “painting” the plate! I was so pleased with my sophisticated plating skills, that I’m sure that when served this way, this recipe would make a great (and alternative) dinner party starter for all, but especially for vegetarians and vegans when the cheese is omitted.
For all those of you who are on a calorie controlled diet, do try to weigh all you ingredients, in an attempt to make sure your calorie count is spot on. Basically, nearly all salad leaves sans dressing are 15 calories per 100g, which is about two servings. I have shared a short list of all the other main salad ingredients below:
Calories in salad ingredients:
(100g)
Lettuce = 15 calories
Tomatoes = 18 calories
Cucumber = 16 calories
Spring Onions = 34 calories
Celery = 16 calories
Beetroot (boiled) = 43 calories
Carrots = 41 calories
Olives = 115 calories
The recipe is shared below, and I do hope that you will enjoy it as much as we did if you make it. Karen
Cauliflower Steaks with Grana Padano Cheese, Olives and Rocket Leaves
Print recipe
| Serves | 2 |
| Prep time | 5 minutes |
| Cook time | 10 minutes |
| Total time | 15 minutes |
| Dietary | Vegetarian |
| Meal type | Lunch, Main Dish, Salad, Snack |
| Misc | Gourmet, Pre-preparable, Serve Hot |
| Region | British |
| By author | Karen S Burns-Booth |
Ingredients
- half a small cauliflower
- 1 teaspoon chilli oil (or oil of your choice)
- 2 tablespoons tomato passata
- 6 stuffed olives, cut in half
- frisée leaves
- rocket leaves
- Grana Padano cheese (or Parmesan cheese)
Note
A delightful way to make use of the humble cauliflower, these "steaks" are pan-fried in a little chilli oil and are then served on a bed of salad leaves with olives, tomato passata and Grana Padano cheese. Each serving is only 110 calories per person, which makes this recipe ideal for anyone following the 5:2 diet for a "fast day" meal.
Directions
| Step 1 | Slice the cauliflower into two large "steaks" about 3/4" (2cm) to 1" (2.5cm) thick. |
| Step 2 | Heat the oil in a large frying pan and then add the cauliflower steaks to the pan, and cook over a medium heat for about 5 minutes each side until just charred and golden brown. (The cauliflower should be soft but with a slight crunch still) |
| Step 3 | Spoon and spead the tomato passata over 2 plates, as shown in the photograph and pile lots of rocket leaves in the middle of the plate. Add a few shavings of Grana Padano cheese and the sit the cooked cauliflower on top of the cheese and the leaves. |
| Step 4 | Arrange the frisée lettuce and olives around the edge of the plate, see photo and scatter a few more shavings of Grana Padano cheese over the whole meal. |
| Step 5 | The calorie count per person, using 10g of cheese each is: 110 calories |
Dominic Franks says
such a shockingly simple idea but I do love it and seeing that I have a huge caulicrush at the moment I will be making this soon… looks beautiful x
Karen Burns-Booth says
Thanks Dom – yes, very easy and yet with superb results, as you can see from the photos!
Glamorous Glutton says
This is such a great idea. It would be perfect as a dinner party starter and a great talking point. GG
Karen Burns-Booth says
I think it would make a great dinner party dish GG!
anna@annamayeveryday says
Looks fabulous, I love cauliflower and that is such an interesting way to serve it!
Karen Burns-Booth says
Thanks Anna! I am a little bit obsessed with cauliflower lately! Karen
Sophie says
I didn’t think fast day food could ever look this good…. This sounds divine! Can’t wait to try it.
Karen Burns-Booth says
I hope you enjoy it as much as we did Sophie! Karen
Bintu @ Recipes From A Pantry says
My other half is hosting a reunion for his uni friends this summer and I am looking forward to serving these for the veggie partners coming.
Karen Burns-Booth says
I am sure they will all love this recipe Bintu! Karen
Janice says
This looks amazing, am definitely going to give this recipe a try.
Karen Burns-Booth says
Do give the recipe a try Janice – it is brilliant for fast days! Karen
Jean | DelightfulRepast.com says
What a gorgeous dish, Karen! Even if I didn’t like cauliflower (but I do!), I’d make this just so I could look at it!
Karen Burns-Booth says
Thanks Jean! This is a simple recipe, but the results are very glam! Karen
Jacky says
Your steaks look wonderful, love the spicy addition. Thanks for sharing my version.
Karen Burns-Booth says
You are welcome Jacky! I love to share recipes where I can!
Choclette says
Only you could make a simple slice of cauliflower look so beautiful Karen – love it 🙂
Karen Burns-Booth says
Hahaha! Thanks Choclette, I was rather pleased with this dish, I have to admit!
Sargento says
I like your dish Karen. You had a nice presentation too 🙂 Thanks for the inspiration.
Karen Burns-Booth says
Thanks so much!
Simone says
So glad I’ve found you. I’m gonna love my lean 5:2 days with your wonderful and inspiring recipes at my side. Thank you for sharing all this.
Karen Burns-Booth says
You are VERY welcome Simone! Karen