Recipe: Make Southbound’s Wood Grilled Cauliflower
Southbound restaurant in Chamblee has an excellent cauliflower appetizer and I wondered if they would share the recipe so you can publish it. Thanks. — Beth Schumaker, Atlanta
Southbound’s executive chef Bethany Colvin says the restaurant has had a cauliflower steak on its menu off and on for about nine years. She came up with this version that’s on the menu right now.
The restaurant makes its own harissa and provided the recipe, but Colvin says it’s fine to use store bought. And if you don’t have Castelvetrano olives, she suggests any buttery green olive will do.
To make a cauliflower steak that holds together, you’ll need to cut the cauliflower from top to bottom, making sure there’s enough of the stalk to keep the rest of the slice together. We found a 2-pound head of cauliflower yielded two perfect steaks and one that wasn’t quite so perfect. We suggest purchasing the largest cauliflower you can find and, after cutting the steaks, reserving the remaining cauliflower for another use.
The restaurant steams the cauliflower ahead, and then puts the steamed cauliflower in their wood-burning grill when the appetizer is ordered. Serve it as they do at the restaurant with about a tablespoon of harissa and 2 to 3 tablespoons of tahini dressing.
If you don’t have a steamer, fill a large saucepan with 1/2 inch of water. Make three golf ball-sized balls of aluminum foil and arrange in bottom of saucepan. Bring the water to a boil over high heat. Arrange the cauliflower steaks on a heatproof plate. It’s fine if the steaks overlap. Carefully lower plate into the saucepan. Cover the saucepan and cook cauliflower until tender, about 5 minutes. Uncover and use tongs to carefully remove the hot cauliflower from the makeshift steamer.
Southbound’s Wood Grilled Cauliflower
- 2 heads cauliflower, about 2 pounds each
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, or as needed, divided
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
- Pinch of salt
- 4 sprigs thyme
- 2 lemons, halved
- Tahini Dressing (see recipe)
- 4 Castelvetrano olives, pitted and sliced
- Harissa (see recipe)
- Microgreens or slivered basil, for garnish
- Cut the cauliflower head vertically into 1 1/2- to 2-inch thick steaks, about a half pound each. Trim the stem end and discard. Put the steaks in a steamer and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.
- While cauliflower is steaming, add 1 teaspoon oil to a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add almonds and toast until light golden brown. Season with salt and put in the bowl of a food processor. Add thyme sprigs and pulse until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. If your thyme sprigs are woody, use only the leaves. Set aside.
- Heat a grill pan over high heat. Brush both sides of steamed cauliflower with oil. You may not need all of the remaining oil. Grill cauliflower and lemon halves, cut side down, until cauliflower is slightly charred on both sides and heated through, about 2 minutes per side, and lemon halves have charred, about 4 minutes total. Arrange steaks on serving plates and drizzle with Tahini Dressing. Top with olives and almond-thyme mixture. Dot the plate with Harissa and garnish with grilled lemon halves and microgreens or slivered basil.
Nutritional information
Per serving: Per serving with almond-thyme mixture and Castelvetrano olives, but not the tahini dressing or harissa: 296 calories (percent of calories from fat, 42), 14 grams protein, 35 grams carbohydrates, 12 grams total sugars, 14 grams fiber, 16 grams total fat (3 grams saturated), no cholesterol, 208 milligrams sodium.Tahini Dressing
Always stir tahini well before using. This recipe makes a very tart dressing that is also delicious on a salad with some sweet ingredients such as cubed apples or dried fruit. The restaurant dresses each serving with 2 or 3 tablespoons of dressing.
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup tahini
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 medium cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon agave syrup
- In the jar of a blender, combine lemon juice, tahini, water, garlic, salt and agave syrup. Puree until smooth. If you want a thinner mixture, add a teaspoon or two of water until you get the consistency you prefer.
Nutritional information
Per serving: Per tablespoon: 30 calories (percent of calories from fat, 63), 1 gram protein, 2 grams carbohydrates, trace total sugars, trace fiber, 2 grams total fat (trace saturated fat), no cholesterol, 197 milligrams sodium.Harissa
Rehydrate chiles by putting them in a small bowl and covering with warm water. When chiles are flexible, about 30 minutes, remove them from water and discard stems, seeds and soaking water. The restaurant garnishes each appetizer serving with a tablespoon of harissa.
- 2 guajillo chiles, rehydrated
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon chopped sun-dried tomato
- 2 teaspoons tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 2 small cloves garlic
- 2 sprigs cilantro
- 1 small bay leaf
- 1/3 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
- In the jar of a blender, combine rehydrated chiles, oil, sun-dried tomato, tomato paste, lemon juice, garlic, cilantro, bay leaf, cumin and cayenne. Process until smooth. Taste and add more cayenne if desired.
Nutritional information
Per serving: Per tablespoon: 85 calories (percent of calories from fat, 96), trace protein, 1 gram carbohydrates, trace total sugars, trace fiber, 9 grams total fat (1 gram saturated), no cholesterol, 1 milligram sodium.From the menu of . . . Southbound, 5394 Peachtree Road, Chamblee. 678-580-5579, southboundatl.com/.
Is there a recipe from a metro Atlanta restaurant you’d like to make at home? Tell us and we’ll try to get it. We’ll also test it and adapt it for the home kitchen. Because of volume, we can’t answer all inquiries. Send your request, your address and phone number to fromthemenu@gmail.com and put “From the menu of” and the name of the restaurant in the subject line.
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