Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower

It has been one of those weeks where I feel like my head is going to explode.  You ever have one of those?  Work has been insanely busy and I literally have been nonstop all day.  We have some important meetings to prepare for this week and by Thursday, I will hopefully have some time to breathe again.  I love what I do but sheesh... it just seems like there aren't enough hours in the day.  Luckily, I found some time to make this crazy delicious Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower!

This stuff is like crack.  Not that I've ever tried crack but from what I understand, it's addicting.  So I guess I should just say that this cauliflower is addicting.  My mother makes it all of the time.  The flavor of the cauliflower completely transforms when you cook it at a high heat and even more when you add parmesan cheese!

Roasting any vegetable, in my opinion, makes it about a million times better.  My go to recipe is basically a variation of this; vegetable tossed in olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic or parmesan cheese then roasted at a very high heat.

Plus, cauliflower is SUPER good for you.  Helen Nichols over at Well-Being Secrets wrote this terrific article that basically explains everything you need to know about this lovely and healthy vegetable.

Make sure to keep and eye on it because turning it halfway through cooking is essential.  Even though my oven was a toasty 450 degrees, it turned out perfectly golden brown.  If your oven runs hotter, you might want to decrease the heat to about 425 degrees.

So, if you are having a busy and stressful week like me, take some time to treat yourself with this quick and easy recipe!  

I always use parmigiano reggiano.  It's the best.

Instead of buying the processed cheese, try buying a big block and grinding it in your food processor.  You actually get more bang for your buck doing it this way!

I do this about once a week because I use the cheese on my lunch salads. Just remove the rinds and pulse until fine crumbs form.

Chop up the cauliflower

And spread it on a sheet pan

And these four ingredients are all you need to make cauliflower out of this world.  I always keep kosher salt in my bamboo container and grind my own peppercorns in my mortar and pestle. I like to be able to feel the amount of seasoning between my fingers!

Add all ingredients, toss then bake.

Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower 
1 small head (mine ended up about 4 cups) cauliflower, chopped into bite size pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Remove leaves and core from cauliflower head and chop into bite size pieces.  Throw it on a large sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil, 1/4 cup cheese, salt and pepper.  Toss with your hands to evenly coat.

Place in oven and bake for 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and using a metal spatula, scrape the cheese from the bottom of the pan and turn the cauliflower so it can brown on all sides.  Sprinkle on remaining 2 tablespoons of cheese, place back in the oven and cook for another 10-12 minutes.
Remove from oven and scrape the pan again and toss the cauliflower.  Let cool for five minutes then serve.